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Early  Western  Travels 
1 748- 1 846 


Volume  IV 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/cumingstourtowesOOcumirich 


Early  Western  Travels 

1748-1846 

A  Series  of  Annotated  Reprints  of  some  of  the  best 
and  rarest  contemporary  volumes  of  travel,  de- 
scriptive of  the  Aborigines  and  Social  and 
Economic  Conditions  in  the  Middle 
and  Far  West,  during  the  Period 
of  Early  American  Settlement 

Edited  with  Notes,  Introdudtions,  Index,  etc.,  by 

Reuben  Gold  Thwaites,  LL.D. 

Editor  of**  The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents,"  **  Wisconsin 

Historical  Colledtions,"  ''Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare," 

** Hennepin's  New  Discovery,"  etc. 

Volume  IV 
Cuming's  Tour  to  the  Western  Country  (i  807-1 809) 


Cleveland,  Ohio 

The  Arthur  H.  Clark  Company 

1904 


Copyright  1904,  by 
THE  ARTHUR  H.  CLARK  COMPANY 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


R.  R.  DONNELLEY  *  SONS  COMFANY 
CHICAGO 


Bancroft  Ubrar,' 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  IV 

Preface.     The  Editor 7 

Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country,  through  the 
States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  a  Voyage  down  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers,  and  a  Trip  through  the  Mississippi  Ter- 
ritory, and  part  of  West  Florida.  Commenced  at  Philadel- 
phia in  the  Winter  of  1807,  and  concluded  in  1809.  Fortes- 
cue  Cuming. 

Cop)Tight  notice 18 

Author's  Table  of  Contents 19 

Author's  Preface         .        .        .        .        .        .        .23 

Text .        .         .25 


ILLUSTRATION    TO   VOLUME    IV 

Facsimile  of  Original  Title-page 17 


PREFACE  TO  VOLUME  IV 

We  devote  the  fourth  volume  of  our  series  of  Western 
Travels  to  the  reprint  of  Fortescue  Cuming's  Sketches  oj  a 
Tour  to  the  Western  Country  —  the  tour  having  been  made 
in  1807-1809,  the  publication  itself  issuing  from  a  Pitts- 
burg press  in  18 10. 

Of  Cuming  himself,  we  have  no  information  save  such  as 
is  gleaned  from  his  book.  He  appears  to  have  been  an 
Englishman  of  culture  and  refinement,  who  had  travelled 
extensively  in  other  lands  —  notably  the  West  Indies, 
France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  It  is  certain  that  he  jour- 
neyed to  good  purpose,  with  an  intelligent,  open  mind,  free 
from  local  prejudices,  and  with  trained  habits  of  observa- 
tion. Cuming  was  what  one  may  call  a  good  traveller  — 
he  endured  the  inconveniences,  annoyances,  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  road,  especially  in  a  new  and  rough  country, 
with  equanimity  and  philosophic  patience,  deliberately 
making  the  best  of  each  day's  happenings,  thus  proving 
himself  an  experienced  and  agreeable  man  of  the  world. 

The  journeys  narrated  were  taken  during  two  succeeding 
years.  The  first,  in  January,  1807,  was  a  pedestrian  tour 
from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg.  Arriving  in  the  latter  city 
on  the  second  of  February,  after  twenty-seven  days  upon 
the  road,  the  remainder  of  the  winter,  the  spring,  and  the 
early  summer  were  passed  at  Pittsburg.  On  the  eighteenth 
of  July  following,  our  traveller  took  boat  from  Pittsburg, 
and  made  his  way  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Kentucky  entrepot 
at  Maysville  —  where  he  arrived  the  thirtieth  of  the  month. 
Mounting  a  horse,  he  made  a  brief  trip  through  Kentucjiy 
as  far  as  Lexington  and  Frankfort,  returning  to  Maysville 


8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

on  the  fifth  of  August.  The  following  day,  he  crossed  the 
Ohio,  and  after  examining  lands  in  the  vicinity,  proceeded 
partly  on  foot,  partly  by  stage  and  saddle,  over  the  newly- 
opened  state  road  of  Ohio,  through  Chillicothe,  Lancaster, 
and  Zanesville  to  Wheeling;  thence  back  to  Pittsburg, 
where  he  arrived  the  evening  of  August  21. 

The  following  year  (1808),  Cuming  begins  his  narrative 
at  the  point  on  the  Ohio  where  he  had  left  the  river  the 
previous  year — at  Maysville,  whence  he  embarked  on  the 
seventh  of  May  for  Mississippi  Territory.  With  the  same 
fulness  of  detail  and  accurate  notation  that  characterize 
his  former  narrative,  Cuming  describes  the  voyage  down 
the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  until  his  arrival  at  Bayou 
Pierre  on  the  sixth  of  June,  after  a  month  afloat. 

Starting  from  Bruinsbury,  at  the  mouth  of  Bayou  Pierre, 
August  22,  he  took  a  horseback  trip  through  the  settle- 
ments of  Mississippi  Territory  lying  along  the  river  and 
some  distance  inland  on  its  tributaries  —  Cole's  Creek,  St. 
Catharine's  Bayou,  the  Homochito,  etc. —  penetrating  the 
then  Spanish  territory  of  West  Florida  as  far  as  Baton 
Rouge,  and  returning  by  a  similar  route  to  Bruinsbury, 
where  he  arrived  the  fifteenth  of  September. 

At  this  point  Cuming's  tour  is  concluded.  In  order  to 
give  completeness  to  the  work,  however,  the  first  editor 
added  the  journal  of  a  voyage  taken  in  1799  *'by  a  gentle- 
man of  accurate  observation,  a  passenger  in  a  New  Orleans 
boat."  From  just  above  Bayou  Pierre,  this  anonymous 
author  departed  on  the  ninth  of  February  for  New  Orleans, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  twenty-third  of  the  same  month. 
Embarking  therefrom  March  12,  he  reached  Philadelphia 
after  a  month's  voyage  via  Havana  and  the  Atlantic  shore. 
His  narrative  is  far  less  effective  than  that  of  Cuming. 

Like  a  well-bred  man  of  affairs,  Cuming  never  intrudes 
his  private  business  upon  our  attention;  but  incidentally  we 


1807-1809]  Preface  9 

learn  that  his  first  Western  journey  from  Pittsburg  was  un- 
dertaken at  least  in  part  to  observe  some  lands  in  Ohio, 
which  he  had  previously  purchased  in  Europe,  and  with 
whose  situation  and  location  he  was  agreeably  surprised. 
The  journey  to  Mississippi  appears  to  have  been  under- 
taken with  a  view  to  making  his  home  in  that  territory. 
The  place  and  date  signed  to  the  preface  — ' '  Mississippi 
territory,  20th  Oct.  1809"  —  would  indicate  that  he  had 
decided  upon  remaining  where  he  had  found  the  social 
life  so  much  to  his  taste,  and  some  of  his  former  friends  and 
acquaintances  had  settled. 

It  is  the  natural  impulse  of  almost  every  traveller  to 
record  the  events  of  a  somewhat  unusual  tour.  Cuming 
wished,  also,  to  afford  information  to  Europeans  and  East- 
em  men  of  *'a  country,  in  its  infancy,  which  from  its  rapid 
improvement  in  a  very  few  years,  will  form  a  wonderful 
contrast  to  its  present  state."  His  attitude  was  sympa- 
thetic towards  the  new  and  raw  regions  through  which  he 
travelled;  nevertheless  this  fact  does  not  appear  to  have 
unduly  affected  his  purpose  of  giving  an  accurate  picture 
of  what  he  saw.  He  does  not  slur  over  the  disadvantages, 
nor  extenuate  any  of  the  crudeness  or  vulgarity;  but  at  the 
same  time  portrays  the  possibilities  of  the  new  land,  its 
remarkable  growth,  its  opportunities  for  development,  and 
the  vigor  and  enterprise  of  its  inhabitants. 

In  plain,  dispassionate  style,  he  has  given  us  a  picture  of 
American  life  in  the  West,  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  that  for  clear-cut  outlines  and  fidelity  of  presenta- 
tion has  the  effect  of  a  series  of  photographic  representa- 
tions. In  this  consists  the  value  of  the  book  for  students  of 
American  history.  We  miss  entirely  those  evidences  of 
amused  tolerance  and  superficial  criticism  that  character- 
ize so  many  English  books  of  his  day,  recounting  travels 
in  the  United  States  —  a  state  of  mind  sometimes  developing 


I  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

into  strong  prejudice  and  evident  distaste,  such  as  made 
Dickens's  American  Notes  a  caricature  of  conditions  in  the 
new  country. 

It  is  essentially  a  backwoods  life  to  which  Cuming  intro- 
duces us,  although  not  in  the  first  stages  of  its  struggle  for 
existence.  Indian  alarms  are  a  thing  of  the  past,  a  large 
percentage  of  the  land  is  cleared,  the  people  have  better 
dwellings  than  in  the  log-cabin  days,  there  is  now  rude 
abundance  and  plenty,  and  the  beginnings  of  educational 
opportunities,  social  intercourse,  and  the  amenities  of 
civilized  life.  The  pioneers  themselves  —  Indian  fighters 
and  skilful  hunters  —  have  become  rare.  Here  and  there 
Cuming  encounters  a  former  Indian  captive,  like  Andrew 
Ellison,  or  a  scout  and  ranger,  like  Peter  Neiswonger;  but 
as  a  rule  it  is  the  second  generation  whom  he  meets,  or 
members  of  the  second  tide  of  emigrants  that  came  in  after 
the  Revolution  —  officers  in  the  army,  younger  sons  of  the 
better  classes,  who  by  energy  and  capacity  bettered  their 
fortunes  in  the  West,  built  for  themselves  good  homes,  laid 
out  towns,  developed  orchards,  farms,  and  plantations,  and 
were  living  in  that  atmosphere  of  prosperity  which  heralded 
the  ultimate  fortunes  of  the  new  land. 

Nevertheless,  the  inheritances  of  the  older  days  of  struggle 
and  primitive  society  are  still  in  evidence  —  the  lack  of 
facilities  at  the  small  country  inns,  the  coarseness  and  rude- 
ness of  the  manner  of  living,  the  heavy  drinking  and  bois- 
terous amusements  of  the  young,  the  fighting,  the  incivility 
to  travellers,  the  boorishness  of  manners.  All  these  are 
relics  of  the  early  days  when  the  rough  struggle  with  the 
wilderness  developed  the  cruder  rather  than  the  finer  vir- 
tues of  men.  On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  already 
pointed  out,  Cuming  shows  us  the  hopeful  elements  of  this 
new  land:  not  only  its  wonderful  material  prosperity,  its 
democratic  spirit  and  sense  of  fairness,  but  its  adaptability, 


1807-1809]  Preface  1 1 

its  hospitality  for  new  ideas,  the  beginnings  of  the  fine  art 
of  good  living,  and  eagerness  to  promote  schools,  churches, 
and  the  organizations  for  the  higher  life. 

Some  of  the  particular  features  recorded  by  Cuming,  that 
are  now  obsolete,  are  the  use  of  lotteries  for  raising  money 
for  public  purposes,  and  the  prevalence  of  highway  robbery 
in  the  unsettled  parts  of  the  country.  The  restlessness  of 
the  population  is  also  worthy  of  note  —  the  long  journeys 
for  trivial  purposes,  the  abandoned  settlements  in  Kentucky 
and  Illinois. 

Especially  valuable  for  purposes  of  comparison,  is  Cum- 
ing's accurate  account  of  the  towns  through  which  he  passed 
—  their  size  and  appearance,  number  and  kind  of  manufac- 
tures, business  methods  and  interests.  Characteristic  of  the 
period  also,  is  the  enterprise  of  the  inhabitants  —  town- 
sites  laid  out  at  every  available  position,  speculation  in 
lands,  and  large  confidence  in  the  future  of  the  region.  In 
that  confidence  Cuming  appears  fully  to  have  shared. 
Already,  he  tells  us,  food-stuffs  were  being  exported  to 
Europe,  the  growth  of  the  cotton  industry  promised  large 
returns,  the  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  resources  and  fer- 
tility of  the  land  fostered  high  hopes. 

In  regard  to  social  conditions,  our  author  writes  at  a  time 
when  the  formerly  uniform  and  homogeneous  character  of 
the  Western  population  was  beginning  to  break  up,  espe- 
cially in  the  slave  states  and  territories,  and  when  the  pro- 
fessional classes  and  large  land-owners  were  taking  a  leading 
position  in  affairs.  He  notes  particularly  the  importance 
and  assumption  of  leadership  on  the  part  of  the  lawyers. 
The  virulent  excitement  of  political  life  is  one  of  the  fea- 
tures of  his  observations  that  his  first  editor  attempted  to 
excuse  and  modify.  It  was  doubtless  true  that  the  inci- 
dents attendant  upon  the  arrest  and  trial  of  Burr  had  espe- 
cially aroused  the  section  through  which  Cuming  passed.    It 


1 2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

is  probable,  however,  that  his  portrayal  of  the  animosity 
of  political  divisions  is  substantially  accurate;  and  that  not 
only  did  *' politics  run  high"  at  the  tavern  and  political 
club,  but  it  controlled  the  social  coterie,  and  in  early  Ameri- 
can society  adjusted  lines  of  relationship  more  strictly  than 
is  evident  today. 

The  areas  which  Cuming  visited  were  those,  with  the 
exception  of  Tennessee,  in  which  were  to  be  found  the  most 
characteristic  features  of  Western  life.  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Northwestern  Virginia  comprised  a  homogeneous 
population,  living  under  similar  conditions.  Closely  allied 
was  Kentucky,  although  it  was  beginning  to  be  modified  by 
settled  conditions,  the  prosperity  of  low,  rich  pasture  lands, 
and  its  distance  from  Eastern  markets.  In  Ohio,  however, 
Cuming  encountered  the  New  England  element  —  but 
well  mixed  with  Southerners  on  the  Virginia  bounty-lands, 
French  of  the  Gallipolis  settlement,  and  New  Jersey  and 
Middle  States  emigration  to  the  region  of  the  Miamis.  His 
narrative,  continued  down  the  Ohio,  shows  the  scarcity  of 
population  in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  and  in  Kentucky  below 
Louisville;  also  the  frontier  character  of  that  region  as  far 
down  the  Mississippi  as  the  Natchez  district.  Here  again, 
Cuming  meets  with  an  area  of  settlement  begun  under  the 
British  rule  of  West  Florida,  and  continued  under  Spanish 
authority,  until  a  few  years  before  his  voyage.  In  Missis- 
sippi, he  portrays  to  us  the  beginnings  of  plantation  life  — 
the  large  estates,  with  gangs  of  negroes;  the  hospitality, 
cultivation,  and  charm  of  the  upper  classes,  jostled  by  the 
rude  waifs  and  strays  that  the  river  traffic  wafted  to  their 
landings.  In  spite  of  diversities,  the  characteristics  of 
Western  life  had  much  sameness  —  the  mingling  of  the  popu- 
lation, the  shifting  of  people  from  all  sections,  and  the 
dependence  upon  the. rivers  as  the  great  arteries  of  Western 


1807-1809]  Preface  1 3 

commerce,  with  its  ultimate  outlet  by  way  of  the  Mississippi 
and  New  Orleans. 

Cuming's  work  was  not  immediately  published  after 
writing.  The  manuscript  passed  into  the  possession  of 
Zadok  Cramer,  a  Pittsburg  printer  who  was  particularly  in- 
terested in  Ohio  and  Mississippi  navigation,  for  which  he 
published  a  technical  guide  called  The  Navigator,  that  ran 
through  numerous  editions.  Cramer  annotated  Cuming's 
manuscript,  adding  thereto  a  considerable  appendix  of 
heterogeneous  matter  —  collected,  as  he  says  in  his  ad- 
vertisement, ' '  from  various  sources  while  the  press  was  going 
on  with  the  work,  and  frequently  was  I  hurried  by  the  com- 
positors to  furnish  copy  from  hour  to  hour.' '  This  material, 
much  of  it  irrelevant  and  reprinted  from  other  works,  the 
present  Editor  has  thought  best  to  omit.  It  ranges  from  a 
description  of  the  bridge  at  Trenton  to  Pike's  tour  through 
Louisiana  —  embracing  such  diverse  matter  as  "Of  the 
character  of  the  Quakers,"  "Sculptures  of  the  American 
Aborigines,"  and  "Particulars  of  John  Law's  Mississippi 
Scheme.' ' 

The  hope  of  Cramer  that  a  second  edition  would  soon  be 
called  for,  was  not  fulfilled.  Put  forth  in  18 10,  the  book 
has  never  been  reprinted  until  the  present  edition,  which  it  is 
believed  will  be  welcomed  by  students  of  American  history. 

As  in  former  volumes  of  the  series,  Louise  Phelps  Kel- 
logg, Ph.D.,  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Library,  has 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the  notes.  The  Editor  desires, 
also,  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to  Mrs.  Frances  C. 
Wordin,  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  for  valuable  informa- 
tion concerning  her  grandfather.  Dr.  John  Cummins,  of 
Bayou  Pierre,  Mississippi. 

R.  G.  T. 

Madison,  Wis.,  April,  1904. 


Cuming's  Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western 
Country — 1807-1809. 


Reprint  of  the  original  edition  (Pittsburgh,  18 10).    The  Appendix, 
being  composed  of  irrelevant  matter,  is  herein  omitted. 


SKETCHES  OF  A  TOUR 

TO  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY, 

TRROVOa 

THE  STATES  OF  OHIO  AJ^D  KENTUCKr\ 


%  Bopa^e 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI  RIVERS, 
AND  A  TRIP 

THROVGB  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TER&ITORY,  AND 
PART  OF  WEST  FLORIDA. 

COlflMSVCBD   AT    PHILADBtPHIA    IN   THE    WHTIBSi 
OF    1807,   AKD    COXCLVDED   IM    1809. 


BY  F.  CUMING. 


WITH  KOTES  AND  AN  APPEHDIXj 

CONTAINIMO 

801£B  XNTBRESTING   FACTS,  TOGETHER  WITH 

A  IfOTICE  OFJN  EXPEDITION  TBROUGB 
LOUISIANA. 


PITTSBURGH, 

miMTBO  It  POBLISBXD   BY  CRAXER,   «PBAR  8e  BICHBAVM, 
FRAVKLIN    RBAS    BOOKSTOAE,    IN   KAAJCBT,    B'BTWeSV 

txonr  8t  «bc«md  strbbts— 1810. 


DISTRICT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  to  wit: 

BE  it  remembered,  That  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  thirty- 
fourth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  A.D. 
1810,  Zadok  Cramer,  of  the  said  district,  hath  deposited  in  this  oflSce, 
the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  proprietor,  in  the 
words  following,  to  wit: 

Sketches  0}  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country,  through  the  States  of  Ohio 
and  Kentucky;  a  Voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  a 
Trip  through  the  Mississippi  territory,  and  part  of  West  Florida.  Com- 
menced at  Philadelphia  in  the  winter  of  1807,  and  concluded  in  1809. 
By  F.  Cuming.  With  Notes  and-  an  Appendix,  containing  some  inter- 
esting Facts,  together  with  a  notice  of  an  Expedition  through  Louisiana. 

In  conformity  to  an  act  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  intituled, 
"An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of 
maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies 
during  the  times  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  the  act,  entitled 
*  *  An  act  supplementary  to  an  act,  entitled  an  act  for  the  encouragement 
of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the 
authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the  time  therein  men- 
tioned," and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing, 
engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints.' ' 

D.CALDWELL,    clerk    of 
the  district  of  Pennsylvania. 


[iii]  CONTENTS 

OF  EACH  CHAPTER  IN  PART 

CHAPTER  I 
Commencement  of  journey  —  Schuylkill  bridge  —  Schuylkill  river 
—  Downingstown  —  Brandywine    creek  —  Pequea    creek  — 
New  Holland  —  Connestoga  creek  and  bridge  —  Lancaster         25 

CHAP.  II 
Elizabethtown  —  Susquehannah  river  —  Harrisburgh  .         .         •     33 

CHAP.  Ill 
Connestoga  massacre  —  Carlisle  and  Dickinson  college         .         .     42 

CHAP.  IV 
Shippensburgh  —  Strasburgh  —  Horse  valley      .         .         .         .49 

CHAP.  V 
Fannetsburgh  —  Juniata  —  Bloody  run  —  Bedford      .         .         -     55 

CHAP.  VI 
Allegheny  mountains  —  Somerset  —  A  murder    .         .         .         .61 

CHAP.  VII 
Laurel  and  Chesnut  hills  —  Greensburgh  —  Pittsburgh        .         .     70 

CHAP.  VIII 
Pittsburgh  —  Lawyers  —  Clergymen 76 

CHAP.  IX 
Allegheny,  Monongahela  and  Ohio  rivers 87 

CHAP.  X 
Georgetown  —  Little  Beaver  creek 100 

CHAP.  XI 
Steubenville  —  Charlestown 106 

CHAP.  XII 
Warren  —  Wheeling  —  Canton iii 


20  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

CHAP.  XIII 
Little  and  Big  Grave  creeks  —  Monuments         .        .        .        .114 

CHAP.  XIV 
Muskingum — Marietta  —  Fortifications 120 

CHAP.  XV 
Little  Kenhawa  —  Blennerhasset's  island 126 

CHAP.  XVI 

Little  and  Big  Hockhocking  —  Bellville      .        .        .        .        .  130 

CHAP.  XVII 
Le  Tart's  falls — Graham's  station 135 

CHAP.  XVIII 
Point  Pleasant  —  Battle  —  Dunmore's  campaign         .        .        .  140 

[iv]  CHAP.  XIX 
Galliopolis  —  Green's  bottom  —  Hanging  rock   ....  147 

CHAP.  XX 
BigGuiandot — Great  Sandy  —  Snakes 153 

CHAP.  XXI 
French  Grant  —  Little  Sciota  —  Portsmouth       .        .        .        .156 

CHAP.  XXII 

Sciota  —  Alexandria  —  Salt-works    .        .        .        .        .        .161 

CHAP.  XXIII 
Brush  creek  —  Manchester  —  Maysville 165 

CHAP.  XXIV 
Washington,  K.  —  May's  and  Blue  licks  —  Salt  furnaces     .        .170 

CHAP.  XXV 

Nicholasville  —  Millersburgh  —  Massacre  .        .        .        .176 

CHAP.  XXVI 
Lexington igj 

CHAP.  XXVII 
Leesburgh  —  Frankfort i8q 

CHAP.  XXVIII 
Paris  —  Frank  Bird  —  HospitaUty     .        .        .        .        .        .196 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  2 1 

CHAP.  XXIX 
Commence  a  journey  from  Maysville  through  the  state  of  Ohio  to 
Pittsburgh 201 

CHAP.  XXX 
Bainbridge  —  Arrival  at  Chilicothe ao8 

CHAP.  XXXI 
The  Sciota  —  Chilicothe  —  Monuments 215 

CHAP,  xxxn 

Hockhocking  —  New  Lancaster  —  Zanesville      .        .        .        .  219 

CHAP,  xxxni 

Wills's  creek  —  Cambridge  —  Beymer's 226 

CHAP.  XXXIV 
St.  Clairsville  —  Indian  Wheeling 230 

CHAP.  XXXV 

Little  Wheeling  —  Alexandria  or  Hardscramble  .        .        .  234 

CHAP.  XXXVI 

Washington,  Penn.  —  Canonsburgh  —  Pittsburgh       .        .        .  238 

CHAP,  xxxvn 

Pittsburgh  —  Panorama  around  it 242 

CHAP,  xxxvin 

Descends  the  Ohio  again  —  Columbia,  Newport,  Cincinnati,  Port 
Williams,  Louisville,  falls 255 

[v]  CHAP.  XXXIX 
Blue  river  —  Horse  machinery  boat 261 

CHAP.  XL 
Green  river  —  Henderson  —  Cotton  machine      ....  265 

CHAP.  XLI 
Wabash  river,  Shawanee  town.  Rocking  cave       ....  269 

CHAP.  XLII 
Cumberland  river,  Tennessee,  Fort  Massac         ....  273 

CHAP.  XLin 
Mississippi,  New  Madrid,  Little  Prairie 279 


22  E,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

CHAP.  XLIV 
Indian  warriours,  their  manners  and  customs      ....  284 

CHAP.  XLV 
Fort  Pike,  Chickasaw  Indians,  Fort  Pickering     ....  289 

CHAP.  XLVI 
Settlements  of  Arkensas  and  White  river 295 

CHAP.  XLVII 
Grand  lake,  Anecdote  of  a  Carolinean 300 

CHAP.  XLVIII 
Walnut  Hills,  Fort  M'Henry,  Bayou  Pierre  ....  305 

CHAP.  XLIX 
Commence  a  tour  by  land.  Cole's  creek,  Greenville        .         .         -  310 

CHAP.  L 

Washington,  Natchez,  Mississippi  territory  .         .         .         -  318 

CHAP.  LI 
Homochito,  Fort  Adams,  Pinkneyville        .         .         .         .         -  326 

CHAP.  LII 
Enter  West  Florida,  Thomson's  creek 331 

CHAP.  LIII 

Baton  Rouge,  Spanish  governour,  Mrs.  O'Brien's        .         .         .  339 

CHAP.  LIV 
Remarks  on  the  climate,  soil,  manners,  face  of  the  country,  pro- 
ductions, &c.    .........  347 

The  description  of  the  Mississippi  continued  from  Bayou  Pierre  to 
New  Orleans  —  Thence  a  sea  voyage  to  Philadelphia,  by  an- 
other hand        354 


PREFACE 

The  writer  of  the  following  tour  would  not  trouble  the 
reader  with  a  Preface,  did  not  some  circumstances  render  it 
in  a  certain  degree  necessary. 

It  might  be  asked  why  he  had  not  commenced  the  tour 
with  a  particular  description  of  Philadelphia.  His  reasons 
for  not  doing  so  were,  in  the  first  place,  Philadelphia  is  a  city 
so  minutely  described  in  every  modern  geographical  publica- 
tion, that  few  readers  are  unacquainted  with  its  local  situa- 
tion between  the  rivers  Delaware  and  Schuylkill,  its  regu- 
larity of  plan,  its  rapid  progress,  &c.  Whereas  the  country 
through  which  the  author  travelled  has  been  very  little  treated 
of  by  tourists,  of  course  is  little  known  to  strangers ;  though 
an  account  of  its  appearance,  its  natural  properties,  its  im- 
provements, and  the  manners  of  its  mixed  population,  per- 
haps merits  a  place  on  the  shelves  of  the  literati,  as  much  as 
the  numerous  tours  and  travels  through  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa  with  which  they  are  loaded.  Indeed,  in  one  point  of 
view,  such  a  book  may  be  much  more  useful,  as  it  may  serve 
for  a  record  of  the  situation  of  a  country,  in  its  infancy, 
which  from  its  rapid  improvement  in  a  very  few  years,  will 
form  a  wonderful  contrast  to  its  present  state,  while  the 
trans-Atlantick  travellers  have  to  treat  of  countries  either 
arrived  at  the  highest  state  of  improvement,  or  of  others 
buried  in  the  gloom  of  ignorance  and  barbarity,  and 
of  course  both  stationary,  and  therefore  not  affording 
any  variety  of  consequence,  during  the  two  last  centuries, 
(in  which  time  they  have  been  the  theme  of  so  many 
able  pens)  excepting  the  style  of  writing  and  manner  of 
description. 


24  E,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

In  the  second  place  —  It  was  the  author's  wish  to  condense 
as  much  into  one  cheap  volume  as  he  could  make  it  contain, 
and  had  he  entered  into  minute  descriptions  of  places  the 
best  known,  he  would  [have]  had  so  much  the  less  room  for 
the  original  matter,  with  which  he  intended  to  constitute 
the  bulk  of  the  work. 

It  was  intended  to  have  put  the  work  to  the  press  in  the 
winter  of  1807,  the  year  in  which  the  tour  commenced,  but  a 
series  of  disappointments  essayed  by  the  author,  has  un- 
avoidably postponed  it,  and  has  given  him  an  opportunity 
of  adding  to  the  original  plan,  some  account  of  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  the  countries 
washed  by  them,  particularly  the  Mississippi  territory, 
which  has  become  of  great  importance  to  the  United  States, 
and  is  not  without  its  value  to  Europe,  from  its  immense 
supply  of  cotton  to  the  European  manufacturers. 

[viii]  As  the  intention  of  the  author  was  the  increase  of 
information,  he  makes  no  apology  for  the  plainness  of  his 
style,  and  he  expects,  on  that  account,  to  be  spared  any  criti- 
cism. Should  however  any  one  think  proper  to  bestow  a 
leisure  hour  in  the  remarking  of  his  inaccuracies,  or  the 
incorrectness  of  his  language,  he  can  have  no  possible 
objection,  as  criticism  of  that  kind  always  tends  to  general 
improvement. 

THE  AUTHOR 

Mississippi  territory,  20th  Oct.  1809. 


SKETCHES  OF  A  TOUR 

CHAPTER  I 

Commencement  of  journey  —  Schuylkill  bridge  —  Schuyl- 
kill river  —  Downingstown  —  Brandjnvine  creek  —  Pe- 
quea  creek  —  New  Holland  —  Conestoga  creek  and 
Bridge  —  Lancaster. 

On  8th  January  1807,  I  left  Philadelphia  on  foot,  accom- 
panying a  wagon  which  carried  my  baggage.  I  preferred 
this  mode  of  travelling  for  several  reasons.  Not  being 
pressed  for  time  I  wished  to  see  as  much  of  the  country  as 
possible ;  the  roads  were  in  fine  order,  and  I  had  no  incentive 
to  make  me  desirous  of  reaching  any  point  of  my  intended 
journey  before  my  baggage.  With  respect  to  expence,  there 
was  little  difference  in  my  travelling  in  this  manner,  or  on 
horseback,  or  in  the  stage,  had  I  been  unincumbered  with 
baggage;  for  the  delay  on  the  road,  awaiting  the  slow  pace 
of  a  loaded  wagon,  which  is  not  quite  three  miles  an  hour, 
and  not  exceeding  twenty-six  miles  on  a  winter's  day,  will  oc- 
casion as  great  expence  to  a  traveller  in  a  distance  exceeding 
two  such  days'  journey,  as  the  same  distance  performed 
otherwise  in  less  than  half  the  time,  including  the  charge  of 
horse  or  stage  hire. 

The  first  object  which  struck  me  on  the  road,  was  the  new 
bridge  over  the  Schuylkill  which  does  honour  to  its  inventor 
for  its  originality  of  architecture,  and  its  excellence  of  mech- 
anism. There  are  two  piers,  the  westernmost  of  which  is  a 
work  perhaps  unexampled  in  hydraulick  architecture,  from 
the  depth  to  which  it  is  sunk;  the  rock  on  which  it  stands 
being  forty-one  feet  nine  inches  below  common  [10]  high 
tides.    Both  piers  were  built  within  cofferdams:  the  design 


26  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

for  the  western  was  furnished  by  William  Weston,  esq.  of 
Gainsborough  in  England,  a  celebrated  hydraulick  engineer. 
Eight  hundred  thousand  feet  of  timber,  board  measure, 
were  employed  in  and  about  it.  Mr.  Samuel  Robinson  of 
Philadelphia,  executed  the  work  of  the  piers  under  the  direc- 
tions of  a  president  and  five  directors,  who  also  superintended 
the  mason  work  done  by  Mr.  Thomas  Vickers,  on  an  uncom- 
mon plan,  which  has  answered  the  intention  perfectly 
well.  The  walls  of  the  abutments  and  wings  are  perpen- 
dicular without  buttresses,  and  supported  by  interior  offsets. 
The  eastern  abutment  is  founded  on  a  rock,  the  western 
on  piles.  There  are  near  eight  thousand  tons  of  masonry 
in  the  western  pier,  many  of  the  stones  in  it,  as  well  as  in 
the  eastern,  weighing  from  three  to  twelve  tons.  Several 
massive  chains  are  worked  in  with  the  masonry,  stretched 
across  the  piers  in  various  positions;  and  the  exterior  is 
clamped  and  finished  in  the  most  substantial  manner. 

The  frame  of  the  superstructure  was  designed  and  erected 
by  Mr.  Timothy  Palmer  of  Newburyport  in  Massachusetts, 
combining  in  its  principles,  that  of  ring  posts  and  braces 
with  a  stone  arch.  The  platform  for  travelling  rises  only 
eight  feet  from  a  horizontal  line.  The  foot  ways  are  five 
feet  in  width,  elevated  above  the  carriage  ways,  and  neatly 
protected  by  posts  and  chains. 

The  whole  of  the  bridge  is  covered  by  a  roof,  and  the 
sides  closed  in,  to  preserve  the  timber  from  the  decay  occa- 
sioned by  exposure  to  the  weather.  The  side  covering  is 
done  in  imitation  of  masonry  by  sprinkling  it  with  stone 
dust,  while  the  painting  was  fresh:  this  is  a  novel  mode  of 
ornamenting  and  protecting  the  surfaces  of  wooden  work 
exposed  to  weather,  which  from  its  goodness  and  cheapness 
will  probably  be  brought  into  general  use.  The  work  of  the 
[i  i]  roof  and  covering  was  done  by  Mr.  Owen  Biddle,  house 
carpenter  in  Philadelphia. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  27 

The  bridge  was  six  years  in  building,  was  finished  in 
1805,  and  cost  in  work  and  materials  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  The  scite  was  purchased 
from  the  corporation  of  Philadelphia  for  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

This  is  the  only  covered  wooden  bridge  we  know  of,  ex- 
cepting one  over  the  Limmat  in  Switzerland,  built  by  the 
same  carpenter  who  erected  the  so  much  celebrated  bridge 
of  Schauffhausen,  since  destroyed,  the  model  of  which  I 
have  seen,  and  I  think  this  of  Schuylkill  deserves  the  prefer- 
ence both  for  simplicity  and  strength.  It  is  550  feet  long, 
and  the  abutments  and  wing  walls  are  750,  making  in  all 
1300  feet;  the  span  of  the  middle  arch  is  195  feet,  and  that 
of  the  other  two  150  each;  it  is  42  feet  wide;  the  carriage 
way  is  31  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river,  and  the  lower 
part  of  the  roof  is  13  feet  above  the  carriage  way;  the  depth 
of  the  water  to  the  rock  at  the  western  pier  is  42  feet,  and  at 
the  eastern  21  feet. — The  amount  of  the  toll,  which  is 
very  reasonable,  was  14,600  dollars  the  first  year  after  it  was 
finished,  which  must  increase  very  much  in  a  country  so 
rapidly  improving.  The  proprietors  are  a  company  who 
have  built  commodious  wharves  on  each  side  of  the  river, 
both  for  protection  to  the  abutments  of  the  bridge,  and  for 
the  use  of  the  city.* 

*  For  a  statistical  accoiint  of  the  Schuylkill  permanent  bridge,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  a  new  and  valuable  work,  the  "Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Agricul- 
tural Society,"  vol.  i,  and  to  Biddle's  "  Young  Carpenter's  Assistant." 

As  a  specimen  of  the  difficulties,  and  uncommon  perseverance  of  the  company 
in  building  the  Schuylkill  bridge,  we  give  the  following  instance:  The  British  troops 
when  at  Philadelphia  had  formed  a  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Schuylkill,  one  of  which 
had  been  accidentally  sunk  in  1777,  twenty-eight  feet  below  common  low  water. 
It  occupied  a  part  of  the  area  of  the  western  coffer  dam,  with  one  end  projecting 
under  two  of  the  piles  of  the  inner  row,  and  had  nearly  rendered  the  erection 
abortive.  It  was  first  discovered  on  pumping  out  the  dam,  in  1802;  and  was  per- 
fectly sound,  after  the  lapse  of  25  years.  The  ir9n  work  had  not  the  least  appear- 
ance of  rust,  or  the  wood  (which  was  common  oak)  of  decay.  The  taking  this 
boat  to  pieces,  the  straining  the  dam,  and  the  leaks  in  consequence,  were  the  chief 


28  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[12]  The  Schuylkill  is  a  fine  river  nearly  two  hundred  yards 
broad  at  the  bridge.  It  rises  in  the  Cushetunk  mountains 
about  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  N.  W.  of  Phila- 
delphia. It  is  navigable  for  flat  boats  from  the  populous 
town  of  Reading  about  fifty  miles  above  Philadelphia,  but 
its  navigation  is  impeded  by  falls  about  eight  miles  above 
the  city,  and  by  others  about  five  miles  above  it,  to  which 
latter  ones  the  tide  flows,  from  its  conflux  with  the  Delaware 
four  miles  below  Philadelphia.  It  supplies  the  city  with 
water,  pumped  by  steam^  from  a  reservoir,  with  which  [13] 
the  river  communicates  by  a  canal  near  the  bridge,  into  a 
cistern,  from  whence  it  is  conveyed  by  pipes  through  the 
streets  and  to  the  houses,  plugs  being  fixed  at  convenient 
distances  for  suppl5dng  the  fire  engines,  for  which  there  are 
too  frequent  use,  from  the  quantity  of  timber  still  used  in 
building,  and  from  the  fuel,  which  is  chiefly  wood. 

The  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  being  hilly,  afford  charming 
situations  for  country  houses,  in  which  the  wealthy  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  find  a  secure  retreat  from  the  unhealthy 
air  of  the  town  during  the  heats  of  summer.  A  good  house, 
a  spacious  green  house,  fine  gardens  and  a  demesne  formerly 

cavises  of  an  extra  expenditure,  by  the  company,  of  more  than  4000  dollars,  hardly 
and  perilously  disbiu^ed  in  pumping  (which  alone  cost  from  500  to  700  dollars 
weekly)  and  other  labour,  during  forty  one  days  and  nights  in  the  midst  of  a  most 
inclement  winter.    Mem.  PhUa.  Ag.  Soc. —  Cramer. 

'  This  water  steam  engine,  otherwise  called  the  waterworks,  is  a  work  of  great 
magnitude.  It  cost  150  thousand  dollars,  and  is  capable  of  raising  about  4,500,000 
gallons  of  water  in  24  hours,  with  which  the  city  is  daily  suppUed  through  wooden 
pipes.  The  reservoir,  into  which  the  water  is  thrown,  is  capable  of  holding  20,00a 
gallons,  and  is  of  a  sufficient  height  to  supply  the  citizens  with  water  in  the  upper 
stories  of  their  highest  houses.  The  first  stone  of  this  building  was  laid  on  the  2d 
May,  1799,  and  it  was  completed  in  1801-2.  The  works  belong  to  the  city,  and  the 
citizens  pay  a  water  tax  equal  to  the  expence  of  keeping  the  engine  in  motion,  which 
amounts  to  about  8,000  dollars  annually.  The  building  stands  in  the  centre  square, 
and  consequently  spoils  the  view  down  Market  street.  The  trees  and  houses  ad- 
jacent, look  as  black  and  gloomy  as  those  in  Pittsburgh,  arising  from  the  smoke 
of  the  mineral  coal  burnt  in  the  works. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  29 

owned  by  the  late  Robert  Morris,  esq.'  are  a  fine  termination 
to  the  view  up  the  river  from  the  bridge. 

There  is  a  turnpike  road  of  sixty-six  miles  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Lancaster,  which  my  wagonner  left  at  Downingstown 
about  half  way,  keeping  to  the  right  along  a  new  road,  which  is 
also  intended  for  a  turnpike  road  to  Harrisburgh,  and  which 
passes  through  New  Holland,  where  he  had  some  goods  to 
deliver.  Downingstown  is  a  village  of  about  fifty  middling 
houses.*  The  east  branch  of  Brandywine  creek  crosses  the 
road  here,  as  the  west  branch  does  about  eight  miles  further. 
— These  two  branches  unite  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  below, 
and  fall  into  the  Delaware  near  Wilmington,  about  twenty 
miles  below  their  junction.  The  Brandywine  is  noted  for  a 
battle  fought  on  its  banks  near  its  confluence  with  the 
Delaware,  between  the  British  army  under  Sir  William 
Howe  and  the  American  under  General  Washington,  who 
endeavoured  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  enemy  to  Phila- 
delphia, from  the  head  of  Chesapeak  bay  where  they  had 

'  This  estate  of  Robert  Morris,  who  died  the  year  before  Cuming's  tour,  was 
purchased  in  1770,  and  had  formed  part  of  the  manor  of  Springetsbury.  It  is 
now  within  Fairmount  Park.  Morris,  known  as  the  "financier  of  the  American 
Revolution,"  was  an  Englishman  who,  emigrating  to  Pennsylvania  in  1747,  became 
a  prominent  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  After  serving  as  a  delegate  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  and  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  was  assigned 
the  difficult  task  of  procuring  funds  for  the  war.  To  his  support  was  due  the 
maintenance  of  an  army  in  the  field  during  the  disastrous  years  of  1776  and  1777; 
while  his  chief  accomplishment  was  financing  the  campaign  that  led  to  the  battle 
of  Yorktown.  After  retiring  from  the  superintendency  of  finance  in  1784,  Morris 
served  in  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  (1786),  the  Constitutional  Convention 
(1787),  and  the  United  States  Senate  (1789-95),  declining  the  position  of  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  in  Washington's  cabinet.  In  later  life  his  affairs  became  involved, 
and  he  spent  four  years  (1798-1802)  in  a  debtor's  prison.  See  Sumner,  Robert 
Morris  (New  York,  1892). —  Ed. 

*  Downingtown,  Chester  County,  took  its  name  from  Thomas  Downing,  who 
bought  the  location  in  1739  and  bequeathed  it  to  his  son.  A  mill  had  been  estab- 
lished on  the  Brand3rwine  at  this  place  as  early  as  17 16,  and  the  town  was  indiffer- 
ently called  Milltown  or  Downingtown  until  finally  incorporated  under  the  latter 
title  in  1859. —  Ed. 


30  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

landed.  The  conflict  was  obstinate,  but  the  British  being 
in  great  force,  the  Americans  [14]  were  obliged  to  retreat, 
after  heavy  loss  on  both  sides. 

The  Brandywine  runs  through  a  rich  and  well  settled 
country,  and  abounds  with  mills,  where  a  vast  quantity  of 
flour  is  manufactured  for  exportation. —  Pequea  creek  which 
falls  into  the  Susquehannah,  crosses  the  road  about  four 
miles  from  the  west  branch  of  Brandywine.  Five  miles 
further  accompanying  my  wagonner,  I  turned  to  the  left 
from  the  Harrisburgh  turnpike  road,  and  in  six  miles  more 
came  to  New  Holland,  which  is  a  long  straggling  town  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  houses  in  one  street,  from  whence  it  is  seven 
miles  to  Conestoga  creek.  From  the  hill  just  above,  I  was 
struck  with  the  romantick  situation  of  a  fine  bridge  over  the 
creek  below,  more  particularly  as  I  came  upon  it  unexpected- 
ly. The  creek  is  about  eighty  yards  wide,  tumbling  its 
rapid  current,  over  an  irregular  rocky  bottom  and  disap- 
pearing round  the  foot  of  a  wooded  hill,  almost  as  soon  as 
seen.  The  man  who  built  the  bridge  lives  on  the  opposite 
side.  The  toll  not  answering  his  expectations,  he  would 
have  been  a  great  sufferer,  had  not  the  state  taken  it  off  his 
hands  and  reimbursed  his  expences;  since  when,  the  toll 
has  been  taken  off. —  It  is  five  miles  from  this  bridge  to 
Lancaster. 

The  face  of  the  country  between  Philadelphia  and  Lan- 
caster is  hilly,  and  variegated  with  woods  and  cultivated 
farms.  It  is  extremely  well  inhabited  and  consists  of  almost 
every  variety  of  soil,  from  sandy  and  light,  to  a  rich  black 
mould,  which  last  quality  is  observable  generally  between 
New  Holland  and  Lancaster,  except  on  the  heights  on  each 
bank  of  the  Conestoga.  The  first  settlers  of  all  this  tract 
were  English,  Irish,  and  German,  but  the  latter  have  grad- 
ually purchased  from  the  others,  and  have  got  the  best 
lands   generally   into    their    possession.    They   [15]   are 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  3 1 

frugal  and  industrious,  are  good  farmers,  and  consequently 
a  wealthy  people. 

Lancaster  is  supposed  to  be  the  largest  inland  town  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  in  a  healthy  and  pleasant  situation, 
on  the  western  slope  of  a  hill,  and  consists  of  two  prin- 
cipal streets,  compactly  built  with  brick  and  stgne,  and 
well  paved  and  lighted,  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles.  There  is  a  handsome  and  commodious  courthouse 
of  brick  in  the  centre,  which,  in  my  opinion  is  injurious  to 
the  beauty  of  the  town,  by  obstructing  the  vista  of  the  princi- 
pal streets.  There  are  several  other  streets  parallel  to  the 
principal  ones  the  whole  containing  about  eight  hundred 
houses.  The  houses  for  publick  worship  are  a  German 
Lutheran,  a  German  Calvinist,  a  Presbyterian,  an  Episco- 
palian, a  Moravian,  a  Quaker,  and  a  Roman  Catholick 
church,  amongst  which  the  German  Lutheran  is  the  most 
conspicuous  from  its  size  and  handsome  spire:  it  has  also 
an  organ. — ^There  is  a  strong  jail  built  with  stone,  and  a 
brick  market  house.  What  in  my  opinion  does  most 
honour  to  the  town  is  its  poor  house,  which  is  delightfully 
situated  near  Conestoga  creek  about  a  mile  from  the  town 
on  the  right  of  the  turnpike  road  towards  Philadelphia.  It 
is  a  large  and  commodious  building,  and  is  supported  partly 
by  the  labour  of  those  paupers  who  are  able  to  work,  and 
partly  by  a  fine  farm,  which  is  annexed  to  it.  There  are 
several  private  manufacturies  in  Lancaster,  amongst  which 
are  three  breweries  and  three  tanyards,  but  it  is  principally 
noted  for  its  rifles,  muskets,  and  pistols,  the  first  of  which  are 
esteemed  the  best  made  in  the  United  States.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  chiefly  the  descendants  of  the  first  German  settlers, 
and  are  a  quiet,  orderly  people  —  They  are  estimated  at 
about  four  thousand  five  hundred. 

This  has  been  the  seat  of  government  of  Pennsylvania 
since  1799,  but  it  is  not  rendered  permanently  [16]  so  by  an 


32  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

act  of  the  legislature,  which  occasions  attempts  being  made 
annually  at  every  session  of  that  body  to  remove  it.^  The 
eastern  members  advocating  Philadelphia  on  account  of 
its  trade  and  population,  and  the  western  members  en- 
deavouring to  have  it  placed  as  near  to  the  centre  of  the 
state  as  possible,  which  they  contend  will  also  shortly  be 
the  centre  of  population,  from  the  rapid  manner  in  which  the 
country  to  the  westward  of  the  Allegheny  mountains  is 
settling.  I  was  present  at  a  very  animated  debate,  on  the 
subject  in  the  house  of  representatives,  during  which  much 
good  argument,  mixed  with  several  sprightly  and  keen 
flashes  of  genuine  wit,  was  used,  but  it  all  terminated,  as  it 
has  hitherto  invariably  done,  in  favour  of  Lancaster  —  Of 
many  situations  proposed,  Harrisburgh  seemed  to  have  the 
greatest  number  of  advocates. 

Notwithstanding  Lancaster  is  so  populous  and  the  seat  of 
government  besides,  it  is  but  a  dull  town  with  respect  to 
society.  The  manners  and  taste  of  the  inhabitants  are  not 
yet  sufi&ciently  refined  by  education,  or  intercourse  with 
strangers,  to  make  it  a  desirable  situation  for  the  residence 
of  a  person  who  wishes  to  enjoy  the  otium  cum  dignitate. 
An  alteration  in  that  respect  will  doubtless  take  place  with 
the  rising  generation,  whose  education,  the  easy  circum- 
stances of  the  present  inhabitants,  enable  to  pay  a  proper 
attention  to,  particularly  as  they  seem  desirous  to  balance 
their  own  deficiencies  in  literature  and  the  polite  accom- 
plishments, by  their  attention  to  their  children  in  those 
particulars.  There  is  no  theatre,  no  assemblies,  no  literary 
societies,  nor  any  other  publick  entertainment,  except  occa- 
sionally an  itinerant  exhibition  of  wax-work,  or  a  pup- 
pet-show: [17]  but  there  are  taverns  without  number,  at 


'  During  the  session  of  1809-10  the  legislature  passed  a  law  for  the  removal  of 
the  seat  of  the  state  government  to  Harrisburgh  in  the  year  1812,  and  appropriated 
the  sum  of  $30,000  for  the  erection  of  publick  bmldings  in  that  place. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  33 

some  of  which  I  have  been  informed,  private  gambling  is 
very  customary. 

There  are  horse  races  here  annually,  which  last  a  week  on 
a  course  on  the  common  to  the  westward  of  the  town,  which 
like  most  other  races  in  this  country,  are  for  the  mere  pur- 
poses of  jockeying  horses,  and  betting,  and  are  not  followed 
by  balls  and  other  social  meetings  of  both  sexes,  as  at  amuse- 
ments of  the  same  kind  in  Europe.  Shooting  with  the  rifle, 
is  a  favourite  amusement,  at  which  they  are  very  dexterous, 
meeting  at  taverns  at  short  distances  from  town,  to  shoot, 
sometimes  at  a  mark  for  wagers,  and  sometimes  at  turkeys 
provided  by  the  tavern  keeper,  at  so  much  a  shot,  the  turkey 
being  the  prize  of  the  killer  of  it  —  the  distance  is  generally, 
one  hundred  yards,  and  always  with  a  single  ball. 

CHAPTER  II 

Indian  bridges  over  Chickey  creeks  —  Elizabeth-town  — 
Cheapness  of  living  —  Swatara  creek  and  ferry  —  Middle- 
ton  —  Susquehannah  river  —  Chambers's  ferry  —  Har- 
risburgh. 

On  Thursday  29th  January  I  left  Lancaster  on  foot,  pro- 
ceeding along  the  Harrisburgh  road,  at  a  steady  pace  of 
about  three  miles  and  a  half  an  hour.  The  weather  was 
remarkable  fine,  and  the  road  in  excellent  order,  and  what 
was  remarkable  for  the  season,  a  little  dusty.  About  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Lancaster,  I  past  a  turnpike  toll  gate,  from 
a  little  beyond  which  I  got  the  last  view  of  the  steeples  of 
that  town,  and  soon  after  I  crossed  a  stone  bridge  over  a 
branch  of  Conestoga  creek.  The  road  continued  [18]  fine, 
and  the  country  rich,  laid  out  in  large  farms,  with  good 
dwelling  houses  of  brick  and  stone,  and  immense  bams. 
Though  hill  and  dale,  woods  and  cultivated  farms,  presented 
themselves  alternately  yet  there  was  nothing  very  striking 
in  the  scenery. 


24  B,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  road  continued  fine,  nine  miles,  to  a  rivulet  called 
Big  Chickey,  which  I  crossed  over  on  an  Indian  bridge, 
which  is  a  high  tree  cut  down  so  as  to  fall  across  the  stream 
from  bank  to  bank,  and  then  its  branches  lopped  off. 
The  banks  being  high,  and  the  bridge  long  and  narrow,  my 
nerves  were  so  discomposed  when  I  reached  the  middle,  that 
I  had  like  to  have  fallen  off,  but  balancing  and  tottering,  I  at 
length  reached  the  end. 

Two  miles  further  I  had  to  cross  another  Indian  bridge 
over  Little  Chickey  creek,  which  I  did  boldly,  without  any 
difficulty;  which  is  one  proof  of  the  use  of  practice  and 
experience. 

The  road  now  became  very  bad,  the  turnpike  intended 
from  Lancaster  to  Harrisburgh  not  being  as  yet  finished  any 
further.'  The  country  also  is  not  so  highly  improved  as  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Lancaster,  the  inhabitants  still  residing 
in  their  original  small  log  houses,  though  they  have  generally 
good  and  spacious  stone  bams. 

After  four  hours  walking,  I  arrived  at  Elizabethtown 
eighteen  miles  from  Lancaster,^  and  stopped  at  the  sign  of 
General  Wayne,  where  for  a  five  penny  bit  (six  cents  and  a 
quarter)  I  got  a  bowl  of  excellent  egg  punch,  and  a  crust 
of  bread. 

It  is  surprising  that  at  so  short  a  distance  from  Lancaster, 
the  necessaries  of  life  should  be  at  least  a  third  cheaper, 
which  on  enquiry  I  found  them  here. 

This  village  contains  about  thirty  tolerable  houses  —  has 


•This  turnpike  is  now  completed,  I  am  informed,  as  far  as  Middleton,  and 
another  extends  from  Lancaster  to  York,  and  is  progressing  on  that  route  to  Cham- 
bersburgh. —  Cramer. 

^  The  site  of  Elizabethtown  was  secured  by  an  Indian  trader  in  1746,  who  sold 
it  seven  years  later  to  Barnabas  Hughes.  The  latter,  a  noted  tavern-keeper,  laid 
out  the  town  and  named  it  in  honor  of  his  wife.  On  the  highway  between  Lancas- 
ter and  Harrisburg,  Elizabethtown  soon  became  an  important  stopping  place,  the 
original  log-cabin  tavern  having  been  extant  until  1835. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  35 

a  meeting  house,  and  a  school,  when  a  master  [19]  can  be 
got,  which  is  not  always  the  case,  the  place  having  now 
been  some  months  vacant,  to  whom  the  trustees  ensure 
twenty-five  scholars,  at  two  dollars  each  per  quarter,  which 
being  only  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  I  would  have 
supposed  insufiicient  for  his  support,  if  at  the  same  time  I 
had  not  been  informed  that  his  board  and  lodging  in  the  most 
respectable  manner,  will  not  cost  him  above  eighty  dollars 
a  year,  in  this  cheap  and  plentiful  country.* 

After  resting  about  an  hour,  and  not  feeling  at  all  fatigued, 
at  half  past  four,  I  proceeded  for  Middleton,  eight  miles 
further,  first  loading  one  of  the  barrels  of  my  gun  with  a 
running  ball,  as  I  had  to  pass  near  where  one  Eshelman  was 
robbed  and  murdered  last  fall. 

The  road  over  Connewago  hills  was  bad,  and  by  the  time 
I  arrived  at  the  bridge  over  Connewago  creek,  three  miles 
from  Elizabethtown,  my  left  foot  began  to  pain  me,  so  that 
I  was  forced  to  slacken  my  pace,  which  made  it  dark  before 
I  arrived  at  Swatara  creek,  when  the  pain  had  much  in- 
creased, which  was  occasioned  by  my  stepping  through  the 
ice  up  to  my  knees  in  a  run  which  crossed  the  road,  which 
the  darkness  prevented  my  seeing. 

The  boat  was  at  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  and  the 
German  family  at  the  ferry  house  let  me  kick  my  heels  at 
the  door  until  I  was  quite  chilled,  before  they  invited  me  in, 
which  old  Mrs.  Smith  did  at  last  with  a  very  bad  grace,  and 
she  almost  scolded  me  for  risking  the  dropping  on  her  very 
dirty  floor,  the  spirits  of  turpentine,  with  which  I  was  wet- 
ting the  feet  of  my  stockings  to  prevent  my  catching  cold, 
a  phial  of  which  I  carried  in  my  pocket  for  that  purpose. 


*  Cuming  here  describes  one  of  the  neighborhood  or  voluntary  schools,  organized 
chiefly  in  the  frontier  districts,  which  afterwards  (1834)  became  the  basis  of  the 
common  school  system  of  Pennsylvania.  See  Wickersham,  History  of  Education 
in  Pennsylvania  (Lancaster,  1886),  pp.  178-182. —  Ed. 


36  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

In  about  half  an  hour,  which  appeared  to  me  an  age,  the 
boat  returned,  and  I  gladly  left  the  dirty,  boorish,  inhospit- 
able mansion,  crossed  the  creek  in  a  canoe,  hauled  over 
by  a  rope  extended  from  bank  to  bank,  about  70  yards,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  after  [20]  I  found  myself  in  Mrs.  Wentz's 
excellent  inn,  the  sign  of  general  Washington  in  Middleton. 
My  foot  being  much  blistered,  I  bathed  it  in  cold  water,  and 
then  injudiciously  opened  the  blisters  with  a  lancet,  and 
spunged  them  with  spirits  of  turpentine:  I  then  got  a  good 
supper  and  an  excellent  bed,  but  my  foot  pained  me  so 
much  as  to  prevent  my  sleeping,  so  I  arose  early,  unref reshed, 
and  breakfasted  with  my  landlady,  an  agreeable,  well  bred 
woman. 

The  view  down  the  Susquehannah  from  Mrs.  Wentz's 
back  piazza  is  very  fine.  The  town  contains  about  a  hun- 
dred houses  and  is  well  and  handsomely  situated  about 
half  a  mile  above  the  conflux  of  Swatara  creek  with  Sus- 
quehannah river,  the  former  of  which  forms  a  good  har- 
bour for  boats,  which  it  is  in  contemplation  to  join  to  the 
Schuylkill  by  a  canal,  in  order  to  give  Philadelphia  the 
benefit  of  the  navigation  of  the  Susquehannah  through  its 
long  course  above  Middleton.  If  this  is  carried  into  effect, 
it  will  draw  to  Philadelphia  a  vast  quantity  of  produce,  which 
now  goes  to  Baltimore.' 

The  Susquehannah  is  a  noble  river,  here  about  a  mile 
wide,  with  fine  sloping  wooded  banks,  and  abounds  with 
rock-fish,  perch,  mullet,  eels,  suckers,  cat-fish  and  white 
salmon,  which  last  is  described  as  a  fine  fish  from  seven  to 
fifteen  pounds  weight,  but  a  distinct  species  from  the  red 
salmon    of    the    northern    rivers.    Notwithstanding    their 

'  Middletown  was  so  named  from  being  half  way  between  Lancaster  and  Car- 
lisle. It  is  older  than  Harrisburg,  and  was  first  known  as  "South  End  of  Pax- 
tang  township."  It  flourished  until  1796,  when  an  enterprising  merchant  discov- 
ering that  the  Susquehanna  could  be  navigated,  trade  was  diverted  hence  to  Balti- 
more.—  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  37 

plenty,  Mrs.  Wentz  assured  me  that  she  was  seldom  gratified 
with  a  dish  of  fish;  for  though  there  are  many  poor  people 
in  the  town  and  neighbourhood,  who  might  make  a  good 
living  by  fishing,  she  says  they  are  too  lazy  to  do  any  thing 
more  than  will  procure  them  some  whiskey,  in  addition  to  a 
miserable  subsistence,  which  a  very  little  labour  will  suffice 
for  in  a  country  where  work  is  so  well  paid  for,  and  where 
the  necessaries  of  life  are  so  abundant  and  cheap. 

Was  it  not  that  the  Susquehannah  abounds  with  [21]  falls, 
shallows  and  rapids  which  impede  the  navigation,  it  would 
be  one  of  the  most  useful  rivers  in  the  world,  as  its  different 
branches  from  its  different  sources,  embrace  a  wonderful 
extent  of  country,  settled,  or  rapidly  settling,  and  abounding 
in  wheat  and  maize  (Indian  com,)  which  most  probably  will 
always  be  staples  of  the  large  and  flourishing  state  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  road  to  Harrisburgh  leads  parallel  to  the  Susque- 
hannah, in  some  places  close  to  the  river,  and  never  more 
distant  from  it  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  along  a  very  pleas- 
ant level,  bounded  on  the  right  by  a  ridge  of  low,  but 
steep  wooded  hills,  approaching  and  receding  at  intervals, 
and  affording  a  fine  shelter  from  the  northerly  winds,  to  the 
farms  between  them  and  the  river;  which  perhaps  is  one 
reason  that  the  orchards  are  so  numerous  and  so  fine  in 
this  tract. 

I  have  rarely  seen  in  any  country,  a  road  more  pleasant 
than  this,  either  from  its  own  goodness,  or  the  richness  and 
variety  of  prospect.  The  Susquehannah  on  the  left  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  wide;  sometimes  appearing,  and 
sometimes  concealed  by  orchards,  groves  or  clumps  of 
wood.  The  fine  wooded  islands  in  the  river.  The  moun- 
tains which  terminate  the  ridge  called  the  South  mountain 
(which  crosses  part  of  Virginia,  and  the  southern  part  of 
this  state)  rising  abruptly  from  the  margin  of  the  river,  in 


38  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

which  they  are  charmingly  reflected,  altogether  form  a 
scenery  truly  delightful. 

About  three  miles  below  Harrisburgh  the  mountains  ter- 
minate, and  the  south  bank  of  the  river  becomes  more  varied, 
though  still  hilly;  and  here  on  an  elevated  promontory,  with 
a  commanding  view  of  the  river,  from  above  Harrisburgh  to 
below  Middleton,  is  a  large,  and  apparently  fine  stone  house, 
owned  by  general  Simpson  who  resides  in  it  on  his  farm, 
and  is  proprietor  of 'a  ferry  much  frequented  by  the  western 
wagonners,  as  the  road  that  way  is  [22]  shorter  by  two  miles, 
than  that  by  Harrisburgh. —  He  farms  out  the  ferry  on  his 
side  for  about  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  while  on 
this  side  the  proprietor  rents  it  at  four  hundred  and  seventy. 
The  value  of  this  ferry  called  Chambers's,  may  serve  to 
convey  some  idea  of  the  state  of  travelling  in  this  country, 
particularly  if  one  reflects  that  there  are  many  other  well 
frequented  ferries  where  publick  roads  cross  the  river, 
within  thirty  miles  both  above  and  below  this  one,  and  which 
are  all  great  avenues  to  the  western  country. 

When  two  miles  from  the  ferry  I  observed  a  long  line  of 
sleds,  horses,  men,  &c.  crossing  on  the  ice;  which  scene,  at 
that  distance  had  a  curious  and  picturesque  appearance,  as 
the  ice  was  glassy,  and  in  consequence  they  appeared  to  be 
moving  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  in  which  their  shadows 
inverted  and  reflected  as  in  a  mirror,  struck  the  eye  with 
very  grotesque  imagery. 

Some  labourers  who  were  at  work  in  a  bam  at  the  ferry 
house,  and  of  whom  I  was  asking  some  questions  relative 
to  the  country,  were  much  astonished  at  my  double  barrelled 
gun,  admiring  its  work  and  lightness,  and  calling  it  a  curious 
creature. 

When  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Harrisburgh,"  the  white 

"  For  the  early  history  of  Harrisburg,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series, 
p.  237,  note  73. —  Ed. 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  39 

cupola  of  its  court-house,  and  the  roofs  of  the  houses  of  the 
town  are  seen  peeping  over  the  trees,  and  have  a  good  effect. 

At  one  o'clock  I  entered  that  town,  turning  to  the  left 
over  Paxton  creek  bridge.  I  stopt  at  the  ferry-house,  which 
is  also  a  tavern,  but  appearance  of  accommodation  not  being 
very  promising,  I  continued  my  walk  along  the  bank  of  the 
river,  and  stopt  at  another  tavern,  where  I  asked  if  I  could 
have  a  bed  that  night.  A  dirty  looking  girl  at  the  stove 
drawled  but  that  she  believed  I  might.  I  then  asked  for 
some  mulled  wine.  She  said  eggs  were  scarce,  and  she 
could  not  get  any.  From  these  symptoms  of  [23]  careless- 
ness, I  thought  it  best  to  try  my  fortune  a  little  further;  so 
putting  on  my  shot  belt  and  taking  my  gun,  I  quietly  walked 
out  in  search  of  a  place  of  more  civil  reception,  and  fortu- 
nately I  entered  Bennet's,  the  sign  of  the  white  horse,  front- 
ing the  river,  at  the  comer  of  the  principal  cross  street, 
which  leads  to  the  market  place.  I  say  fortunately,  for  I 
found  it  an  excellent,  plentiful  and  well  frequented  house, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennet,  two  fine  girls,  his  daughters  by 
a  former  wife,  and  a  Mr.  Fisher  an  assistant,  and  apparently 
some  relation,  all  attentive  and  studious  to  please. 

After  getting  some  refreshment  I  wrote  some  letters,  and 
carried  them  to  the  post-office.  The  office  being  shut,  the 
postmaster  very  civilly  invited  me  into  his  parlour,  to  settle 
for  the  postage,  where  seeing  a  large  map  of  Pennsylvania, 
I  took  the  opportunity  of  tracing  my  journey,  which  the 
postmaster  observing,  he  very  politely  assisted  me  in  it, 
pointing  out  the  most  proper  route.  There  were  some 
ladies  in  the  room,  apparently  on  a  visit,  and  there  was  an 
air  of  socialty  and  refinement  throughout,  which  was  very 
pleasing. 

Leaving  the  post-office  I  walked  through  the  town.  It 
contains  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  houses,  most  of  them 
very  good,  some  of  brick,  some  of  stone,  and  some  of  wood. 


4©  BiUrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  principal  street  runs  nearly  east  and  west,  and  has  two 
small  market-houses  in  the  centre,  where  the  street  is 
widened  purposely  into  a  small  square.  Parallel  to  this 
main  street  is  a  street  charmingly  situated  on  the  bank  of  the 
Susquehannah,  open  to  the  river  on  the  side  next  it,  and 
tolerably  well  built  on  the  other,  having  a  wide  foot  way, 
in  some  parts  paved,  and  marked  in  its  whole  length  by  a 
row  of  Lombardy  poplars  regularly  planted,  which  serves 
also  to  shade  the  houses  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sum- 
mers sun.  This  street,  though  at  present  wide  enough,  has 
not  been  laid  [24]  out  sufficiently  so  to  provide  against  the 
gradual  encroachment  of  the  river,  on  its  steep  gravelly 
bank  of  about  twenty  feet  high  above  the  common  level  of 
the  water.  The  view  from  every  part  of  this  street  is  very 
beautiful,  both  up  and  down  the  river,  about  five  miles 
each  way  —  terminated  upwards  by  the  long  ridge  of  the 
Blue  mountains,  through  a  gap  in  which  of  about  t]jree 
miles  long,  which  is  also  open  to  the  view,  the  river  rolls  its 
rapid  current,  contracted  there  to  less  than  half  a  mile 
wide.  While  downwards  the  eye  rests  on  the  South  moun- 
tain, impending  over  general  Simpson's  house,  which  in  its 
turn  seems  to  overhang  the  river,  from  the  high  promontory 
on  which  it  is  situated.  Several  islands  add  to  the  beauty 
of  the  view,  particularly  one,  on  which  is  a  fine  farm  of 
nearly  one  hundred  acres  just  opposite  the  town. 

The  court-house  is  near  the  market  square  on  the  princi- 
pal cross  street,  and  is  a  handsome  plain  brick  building  of 
two  lofty  stories,  with  a  cupola  rising  from  the  centre  of 
the  roof,  remarkable  for  its  vane  of  copper  gilt,  representing 
an  Indian  chief,  as  large  as  the  life,  with  a  bow  in  his  left 
hand,  and  a  tomahawk  in  the  act  of  cutting,  in  the  right. 
The  house  is  about  seventy  feet  by  fifty,  with  two  small 
receding  wings.  The  hall  for  the  court  is  very  neat,  spacious 
and  convenient;  doors  opening  from  it  into  the  record  and 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  41 

prothonotary's  offices  in  the  wings.  A  fine  easy  double 
staircase  leads  to  the  great  room  over  the  hall  for  the  courts. 
This  room  is  now  used  as  a  temporary  place  of  worship  by 
the  English  Presbyterians,  until  their  own  meeting  house  is 
finished,  which  is  of  brick  and  in  great  forwardness.  From 
each  corner  of  this  room  a  door  opens  into  the  register 
office,  the  library  and  two  jury  rooms. 

There  is  as  yet  no  other  place  of  publick  worship  in  Har- 
risburgh,  except  an  old  wooden  house  used  as  such,  by  a 
congregation  of  German  Lutherans. 

[28,  i.  ^.,25]  This  town  which  is  now  the  capital  of  Dauphin 
county  was  laid  out  twenty-three  years  ago  by  the  late  pro- 
prietor, Mr.  Harris,  whose  father  is  buried  near  the  bank  of 
the  river,  opposite  the  stone  house  he  lived  in,  under  a  large 
old  tree,  which,  once  during  his  life,  concealed  and  saved 
him  from  some  Indians,  by  whom  he  was  pursued. 

I  observed  in  the  office  of  a  Mr.  Downie,  a  magistrate, 
a.  newly  invented  patent  stove,  made  of  sheet  iron,  con- 
sisting of  two  horizontal  parallel  cylinders,  about  a  foot 
apart,  one  over  the  other  and  communicating  by  a  pipe; 
the  upper  one  is  heated  by  the  smoke  from  the  lower,  which 
contains  the  fuel.  Mr.  Downie  informed  me  that  it  saved 
much  fuel.    The  patentee  lives  here. 

On  returning  to  my  inn,  I  found  there  a  Mr.  W.  P ,  of 

Pittsburgh,  just  arrived.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  he 
gave  me  much  good  information  of  the  western  country,  ac- 
companied by  a  friendly  invitation  to  call  on  him  in  Pitts- 
burgh, should  I  be  detained  there  until  his  return  from 
Philadelphia,  where  he  was  now  going.  He  had  formerly 
lived  in  Harrisburgh  for  some  years  after  his  arrival  from 
Ireland,  his  native  country.  The  joyful  eagerness  with 
which  numbers  of  his  old  acquaintance  flocked  to  Bennet's 
to  visit  him,  evinced  his  having  been  much  esteemed  and 
respected. 


42  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[26]  CHAPTER  III 

Harrisburgh  ferry  —  Old  Jameson  —  The  Conestoga  massa- 
cre —  Militia  riflemen  —  Carlisle  and  Dickenson  college. 

On  Saturday  24tli,  I  arose  early,  but  the  ferry-boat  not 
being  ready,  I  partook  of  an  excellent  breakfast  with  my 
friendly  host  and  his  family,  and  at  ten  o'clock  I  embarked 
in  a  large  flat,  with  the  western  mail  and  several  passengers 
and  horses.  The  flat  was  worked  by  nine  stout  men,  with 
short  setting  poles  shod  and  pointed  with  iron,  to  break  the 
ice  and  stick  in  the  bottom.  Only  one  set  or  pushed  on  the 
upper  side,  while  eight  set  on  the  lower  side,  to  keep  the 
boat  from  being  forced  by  the  current  against  the  ice,  while 
a  tenth  steered  with  a  large  oar  behind.  A  channel  for  this 
purpose  had  been  cut  through  the  ice,  and  was  kept  open 
as  loaded  wagons  could  cross  the  river  in  a  flat  with  more 
safety  than  on  the  ice. 

In  twenty-two  minutes  we  were  landed  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  Susquehannah  in  Cumberland  county;  and  I 
trudged  on,  my  foot  paining  me  very  much,  until  half  past 
twelve  o'clock,  when  I  stopped  at  a  tavern  seven  miles  from 
the  ferry  and  got  some  refreshment.  Here  I  found  a  tall 
active  old  man  of  the  name  of  Jameson,  seventy-six  years 
of  age,  who  had  crossed  tl^  ferry  with  me,  and  had  after- 
wards passed  me  on  the  road,  on  horseback.  He  had 
accompanied  his  parents  from  the  county  Antrim  in  Ireland 
when  only  six  years  old,  had  resided  thirty-six  years  at 
Paxton,  near  where  Harrisburgh  has  since  been  built,  (where 
he  had  been  on  business)  and  had  afterwards  removed  to  a 
part  of  Virginia  about  two  hundred  miles  distant,  where  he 
has  a  large  farm  and  distillery.  He  insisted  on  treating  me, 
as  he  said,  he  liked  to  encourage  the  consumption  of  whis- 
key; of  which,  and  the  telling  of  old  stories  he  was  so  fond, 
that  he  appeared  to  forget  he  had  so  [27]  long  a  journey  before 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  43 

him,  until  reminded  by  seeing  some  travellers  pass  on  horse- 
back, whom  he  hastened  to  overtake  for  the  sake  of  their 
company.  He  did  not  however  neglect  finishing  his  whiskey, 
which  he  swallowed  with  great  gout,  and  on  mounting  his 
horse,  cracked  jokes  about  a  buxom  widow,  at  whose 
tavern  beyond  Carlisle,  he  proposed  sleeping  that  night. 
Among  other  stories  with  which  he  had  entertained  me, 
he  told  me  the  particulars  of  the  massacre  of  the  Indians 
at  Lancaster,  and  he  took  a  good  deal  of  pride  to  himself, 
for  having  been  one  of  the  heroes  who  had  assisted  on  that 
memorably  disgraceful  expedition.  In  justice  however  to 
the  old  man,  I  must  observe  that  he  related  with  pleasure 
that  the  party  he  accompanied,  arrived  too  late  in  Lancas- 
ter to  assist  in  the  carnage." 

[28]  As  this  is  a  circumstance  not  generally  known,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  introduce  here  a  short  account  of  it. — ^The 
Conestoga  Indians,  as  they  were  called,  from  their  residence 
near  the  banks  of  Conestoga  creek,  were  the  remains  of  a 
tribe  of  the  Six  nations,  who  entered  into  a  treaty  with  Wil- 
liam Penn  the  first  proprietor  of  the  then  province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by 
which  they  had  a  thousand  acres  of  land  assigned  them  in 

"  The  character  here  given  of  old  Mr.  Jameson,  puts  us  in  mind  of  an  old  man 
of  a  similar  character  in  Washington  coimty,  Pennsylvania,  of  the  name  of  Fore- 
man, who  at  this  time  is  ninety-eight  years  of  age.  I  had  a  curiosity  in  seeing  this 
old  gentleman,  and  about  two  years  ago  called  on  him  for  the  purpose  of  convers- 
ing a  few  minutes  with  him.  I  was  fully  paid  the  trouble,  for  I  found  him  talka- 
tive and  considerably  worldly  minded.  Among  other  things  he  observed  that 
'The  fashions  of  the  day  had  injured  society,  and  had  lead  astray  the  minds  of 
young  men  and  young  women  from  the  paths  of  simple  and  rustick  honesty  they 
used  to  walk  in  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago.  That  there  was  much  hypocrisy  in  the 
shew  of  so  much  religion  as  appeared  at  present.  That  people  were  too  fond  of 
lying  in  their  beds  late  in  the  morning,  and  drinking  too  much  whiskey.  That 
he  himself  used  to  take  a  froUck  now  and  then  to  treat  his  friends  of  a  Saturday 
night,  after  working  hard  all  the  week,  but  that  he  had  not  drank  any  spirituous 
liquors  for  twenty-five  years.  That  he  had  been  always  an  early  riser,  having 
been  in  the  habit  when  he  first  settled  where  he  now  lives  (having  come  from  Vir- 
ginia about  thirty  years  ago)  of  going  around  to  aU  his  neighbours  before  or  about 


44  Fiarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  manor  of  Conestoga  for  their  residence.  This  treaty- 
had  been  frequently  renewed  afterwards,  and  was  never 
violated  on  either  part  until  their  extermination  by  the  sur- 
rounding settlers.  It  is  remarked  that  the  Indians  dimin- 
ish rapidly,  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  European  set- 
tlers in  the  neighbourhood  of  any  of  their  towns.  This  was 
very  observable  here,  where  from  a  tribe,  they  had  decreased 
in  about  seventy  years,  to  seven  men,  five  women,  and  eight 
children. 

An  Indian  war  had  commenced  through  the  intrigues  of 
the  French,  in  the  year  1754,  at  the  commencement  of  which, 
many  of  the  frontier  inhabitants  being  murdered  or  driven 
in  by  the  aborigines,  aided  by  the  French,  a  general  panick 
followed.  The  Conestoga  Indians,  notwithstanding  their 
weakness,  their  local  situation,  and  their  peaceable  and  in- 
nocent habits  of  supporting  themselves  by  making  of  wicker 
[29]  baskets,  brooms  and  other  wooden  ware,  which  they 
sold  to  their  white  neighbours,  as  well  as  the  skins  of  the 
wild  animals  which  they  killed  in  hunting,  became  objects  of 
terror  to  the  panick  struck  whites.  To  be  an  Indian,  was 
enough  to  excite  both  the  passions  of  fear  and  revenge. 
This  poor  defenceless  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  tribe,  had 
but  just  sent  an  address,  according  to  their  custom  on  the 

day-light,  to  waken  them  up,  and  bid  them  good  morning,  and  return  home  again 
before  his  own  family  would  be  out  of  bed.  I  asked  him  why  he  never  came  to 
Pittsburgh;  he  replied  that  he  could  ride  there  he  supposed,  but  that  he  had  no 
business  in  that  place,  but  that  he  should  like  to  move  to  Kentucky  or  to  the  state 
of  Ohio,  if  he  went  any  where.  On  speaking  of  his  great  age  and  the  probable 
number  of  years  he  might  yet  live,  he  seemed  inclined  to  believe  he  would  live  at 
least  four  years  longer,  (being  then  ninety-six)  wishing  as  appeared  to  me,  to  make 
out  the  round  number  of  one  hundred  years.  He  is  quite  a  small  man,  somewhat 
emaciated,  but  erect  in  his  carriage,  can  see  tolerably  well,  and  walks  about  the 
house  without  a  cane,  milk  and  vegetables  have  been,  through  life,  his  principal 
diet,  and  water  his  beverage.  His  present  wife,  being  his  second,  is  quite  a  smart 
woman,  and  is  about  eighty-six  years  old.  The  old  gentleman  observed  that  he 
had  never  to  his  recollection  been  sick,  so  as  to  have  required  the  aid  of  a  physi- 
cian.* Happy  old  man  thought  I,  thou  hast  been  happy,  and  art  still  so!  —  Peace 
to  the  remainder  of  thy  lengthened  days!  —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  45 

occasion  of  every  new  governor,  to  John  Penn,  esq.  who 
then  held  that  office;  welcoming  him  on  his  arrival  from 
Britain,  and  praying  a  continuance  of  that  favour  and  pro- 
tection they  had  hitherto  experienced;  when  at  the  dawn 
of  day  of  the  14th  December  1763,  the  Indian  village  was 
attacked  by  about  sixty  men  well  mounted  and  armed. 
Only  three  men,  two  women  and  a  boy  were  found  at  home, 
the  rest  being  out  among  the  whites  vending  their  little 
wares.  Those  poor  wretches  were  butchered  and  scalped 
in  the  manner  of  the  savages,  by  those  more  savage  descend- 
ants of  the  civilized  Europeans:  Even  the  hoary  locks  of 
the  venerable  and  good  old  chief  Shebaes,  who  had  assisted 
at  the  second  treaty  between  the  whites  and  Indians  in 
1 70 1,  and  who  had  always  since  been  the  avowed  friend  of 
the  former,  could  not  excite  the  mercy,  much  less  the  respect 
of  his  barbarous  assassins: —  he  was  cut  to  pieces  in  his  bed, 
and  scalped  with  the  rest,  and  the  huts  were  then  com- 
mitted to  the  flames.  The  magistrates  of  Lancaster  col- 
lected the  remaining  Indians,  and  brought  them  into  that 
town,  condoling  with  them  on  the  late  misfortune,  and 
promising  them  protection ;  with  which  intent  they  were  put 
into  the  jail,  as  the  strongest  building  in  the  town. 

Their  merciless  blood  hounds  not  satiated  with  the  blood 
already  spilt,  and  increased  to  the  number  of  five  hundred 
well  armed  men,  marched  into  Lancaster.  No  opposition 
was  made  to  them,  though  the  first  party  which  arrived  did 
not  consist  of  [30]  more  than  fifty,  who  without  awaiting 
any  of  the  rest,  forced  the  jail,  dragged  their  victims  into  the 
yard,  and  there  immolated  them,  while  clinging  to  their 
knees,  and  supplicating  mercy.  In  this  manner  they  all, 
men,  women,  and  children,  received  the  hatchet,  amid  the 
exultations  of  their  murderers,  who  after  the  tragedy,  parad- 
ed the  streets,  huzzaing,  and  using  every  other  mark  of  self- 
approbation  for  the  glorious  deed  they  had  achieved.    How 


46  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

weak  must  have  been  the  government,  which  dared  not  at- 
tempt any  publick  investigation  of  an  act  so  disgraceful  to 
humanity,  and  in  such  direct  violation  of  the  laws;  but  it  is 
a  fact  that  not  even  the  name  of  one  of  the  perpetrators  was 
ever  published;  they  were  however  generally  known  by  the 
appellation  of  Paxton  hoys,  though  the  township  of  Paxton 
was  only  one  of  many  concerned. 

At  the  tavern  where  I  overtook  Jameson,  I  saw  some  young 
men  in  blue  jackets  with  scarlet  binding,  the  uniform  of  a 
volunteer  corps  of  militia  riflemen.  They  had  been  with 
their  rifles  in  search  of  squirrels,  but  unsuccessfully,  the 
weather  being  too  cold  for  those  animals  to  come  out  of 
their  hollow  trees. 

Apropos  of  the  rifle. — ^The  inhabitants  of  this  country 
in  common  with  the  Virginians,  and  all  the  back  woods 
people,  Indians  as  well  as  whites,  are  wonderfully  expert 
in  the  use  of  it:  thinking  it  a  bad  shot  if  they  miss  the  very 
head  of  a  squirrel,  or  a  wild  turkey,  on  the  top  of  the  highest 
forest  tree  with  a  single  ball ;  though  they  generally  load  with 
a  few  grains  of  swan  shot,  with  which  they  are  equally  sure 
of  hitting  the  head  of  the  bird  or  animal  they  fire  at. 

Ten  miles  further  brought  me  to  Carlisle,"  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening;  the  whole  road  from  Harrisburgh  [31]  being 
very  fine  and  level,  the  houses  and  farms  good,  and  the  face 
of  the  country  pleasant.  The  view  on  the  right  is  all  the 
way  terminated  by  the  Blue  mountains  —  the  longest  north 
eastern  branch  of  the  Allegheny  ridge,  from  six  to  ten  miles 
distant. 

I  observed  about  a  mile  from  Carlisle  on  the  left,  and 
about  a  half  a  mile  from  the  road,  a  large  handsome  stone 
house  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Jackson  of  Baltimore,  which  was 
formerly  owned  by  General  Arden;  and  about  half  way 

"  For  an  account  of  Carlisle,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  237, 
note  75. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  47 

between  it  and  the  town,  and  also  to  the  left  of  the  road,  the 
large  barrack,  magazine,  and  depot  of  arms,  built  during 
the  revolutionary  war.  Dickenson  college,  a  spacious  stone 
building  with  a  cupola  was  directly  before  me,  with  the 
town  of  Carlisle  on  the  left  of  it  extending  to  the  southward 
on  an  elevated  plain :  the  whole  having  a  very  good  effect  on 
the  approach.  The  twilight  shutting  out  further  view,  I 
hastened  through  a  tolerable  compact  street  to  Foster's,  to 
which  I  had  been  recommended  as  the  best  inn.  I  asked 
if  I  could  have  a  bed  that  night,  and  was  answered 
rudely,  by  an  elderly  man,  in  the  bar  who  I  took  for  the 
landlord,  after  he  had  eyed  me  with  a  contemptuous 
scrutiny  —  that  I  could  not.  The  house  appeared  a  little 
would  he  stylish  —  and  I  was  afoot  —  so  not  of  con- 
sequence enough  for  Mr.  Foster.  I  turned  on  my  heel,  and 
entered  the  next  tavern  kept  by  Michael  Herr,  an  honest 
and  obliging  German,  where  I  found  nothing  to  make  me 
regret  my  being  rejected  as  a  guest  at  Foster's,  except  wstnt 
of  bed  linen,  sheets  not  being  generally  used  in  this  country 
in  the  inns,  excepting  at  English  ones,  or  those  of  fashionable 
resort.  A  very  good  bed  otherwise,  and  an  excellent  supper, 
with  attentive  treatment,  well  compensated  for  that  little 
deficiency. 

After  supper,  I  received  both  pleasure  and  information 
from  the  conversation  of  a  philosophick  German  gentle- 
man, an  inhabitant  of  Carlisle,  who  favoured  [32]  me  with 
his  company,  and  who  discoursed  fluently  on  opticks, 
pneumaticks,  the  French  modem  philosophy,  and  a  variety 
of  literary  topicks,  evincing  great  reading,  and  a  good 
memory. 

Before  I  retired  to  rest,  I  walked  to  the  tavern,  where  the 
wagons  generally  stop,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  finding, 
that  arrived,  which  carried  my  baggage,  which  I  had  not 
seen  since  I  left  Lancaster. 


48  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Carlisle  is  a  post  town,  and  the  capital  of  Cumberland 
county.  It  contains  about  three  hundred  houses  of  brick, 
stone,  and  wood.  The  two  principal  streets  cross  each 
other  at  right  angles,  where  there  is  a  market-house,  a  neat 
brick  court-house  and  a  large  stone  meeting-house.  There 
are  besides  in  the  town,  a  German,  an  Episcopalian,  and  a 
Roman  Catholick  church.  The  streets  are  wide,  and  the 
footways  are  flagged  or  coarsely  paved.  Dickenson  col- 
lege on  the  north,  was  founded  in  1783,  and  was  so  named 
in  compliment  to  Mr.  John  Dickenson,  formerly  president 
of  the  supreme  executive  council  of  Pennsylvania,  and  author 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Farmer's  Letters,  and  other  writings  of 
much  merit.  It  has  a  principal,"  three  professors,  and 
generally  about  eighty  students.  It  has  a  philosophical 
apparatus  and  a  library,  containing  about  three  thousand 
volumes.  It  has  £4000  in  funded  certificates,  and  the 
state  has  granted  it  ten  thousand  acres  of  land:  [33]  On  the 
whole  it  is  esteemed  a  respectable  seminary  of  learning,  and 
is  extremely  well  situated  for  that  purpose,  in  a  healthy 
and  plentiful  country,  and  about  equidistant  from  the  capi- 
tal of  the  state,  and  the  capital  of  the  United  States,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  each." 

"  By  a  letter  from  Mr,  Robert  Lamberton,  postmaster  at  Carlisle,  it  appears 
Dickenson  college  was  burnt  down  by  accidental  fire,  February  3d,  1803,  and  rebuilt 
in  1804.  Doctor  Nesbit,  a  Scotch  gentleman  of  great  learning,  and  much  cele- 
brated for  his  application  to  his  studies,  and  particularly  for  the  uncommon  reten- 
tiveness  of  his  memory,  had  been  several  years  president  of  this  college;  he  died 
18th  January,  1804.  The  Rev.  Mr  Atwater,  from  jMiddlebury,  Vermont,  took 
his  place  as  principul  at  the  last  commencement,  on  Wednesday  the  27th  Septem- 
ber, 1809,  and  from  his  known  abilities  and  piety,  we  may  safely  calculate  that  the 
college  is  again  in  a  flourishing  condition. —  Craker. 

^*  Dickenson  has  had  many  well  known  alimini;  but  after  the  death  of  its  first 
president.  Dr.  Nesbit,  a  period  of  decline  set  in,  lasting  until  1833,  when  its  foxmd- 
ers,  the  Presbyterians,  sold  it  to  the  Methodists,  who  have  since  maintained  the 
college. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  49 

CHAPTER  IV 

Different  roads  to  Shippensburgh  —  Foxes  —  South  moun- 
tain and  pine  woods  —  Shippensburgh  —  Strasburgh  — 
North  or  Blue  mountain  —  Horse  valley  and  Skinner's 
tavern. 

On  the  25th  January  at  8  A.M.  I  left  Carlisle,  having 
previously  taken  an  egg  beat  up  in  a  glass  of  wine.  There 
are  two  roads,  one  called  the  Mountrock  road  which  goes 
from  the  north  end  of  the  town,  and  the  other  called  the  Wal- 
nut-bottom road,  which  leads  from  the  south  end.  They 
run  parallel  to  each  other  about  three  miles  apart.  I  took 
the  latter,  which  is  the  stage  road,  as  the  wagon  with  my 
baggage  was  to  go  that  way,  though  I  was  informed  that 
the  first  led  through  a  better  country.  I  found  mile-stones 
on  the  right  hand  all  the  way  to  Shippensburgh,  placed  at 
the  expence  of  the  proprietors  of  the  lands  on  this  road,  to 
prove  it  shorter  than  the  other,  they  having  before  been  com- 
puted at  the  equal  length  of  twenty-one  miles  each;  but 
now  this  one  is  marked  only  nineteen.  The  first  five  miles 
are  through  a  very  poor  and  stony  country,  thinly  inhabited, 
and  covered,  except  on  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  few 
miserable  looking  farms,  with  short,  stunted,  scrubby  wood. 
The  next  seven  miles  are  through  a  better  improved  country, 
and  a  better  soil,  with  large  farms  [34]  and  good  houses; 
then  there  are  three  mUes  over  the  northern  skirt  of  the  South 
mountain,  through  gloomy  forests  of  tall  pines,  with  here 
and  there  a  log  cabin  surrounded  by  a  few  acres  of  cleared 
land,  and  abounding  in  children,  pigs,  and  poultry.  The 
last  four  miles  improve  gradually  to  Shippensburgh. 

At  eleven  o'clock  I  stopt  and  breakfasted  at  a  large  tavern 
on  the  right,  seven  miles  from  Carlisle,  I  got  coffee,  bread 
and  butter,  eggs  and  excellent  honey  in  the  comb,  for  which 
I  was  charged  only  nineteen  cents.    My  landlord  presented 


50  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

me  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  apples  I  had  ever  seen:  it 
was  the  produce  of  his  own  orchard,  where  he  had  several 
trees  of  the  same  species,  raised  by  himself  from  the  pippin, 
and  neither  grafted  nor  budded.  He  had  the  manners  of  a 
New  Englandman,  being  desirous  both  of  receiving  and  of 
communicating  information,  but  I  soon  gathered  from  him 
that  he  was  a  native  of  that  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of 
English  extraction.  On  my  entrance  he  had  laid  down  a 
book,  which  taking  up  afterwards,  I  found  to  be  a  volume 
of  Robertson's  Charles  V. 

As  I  proceeded  from  hence,  two  very  beautiful  red  foxes 
playfully  crossed  the  road  about  a  hundred  yards  before  me ; 
they  then  recrossed  it,  and  seeing  me,  made  up  a  hill  to  the 
right  with  incredible  swiftness,  leaping  with  ease  a  Virginia 
worm  fence  above  six  feet  high. 

At  half  past  four  I  arrived  at  Shippensburgh,  which  was 
laid  out  for  a  town,  about  fifty  years  ago,  and  named  after 
the  first  proprietor  and  settler,  the  father  of  judge  Shippen 
of  Philadelphia."  It  contains  between  150  and  200  strag- 
gling houses,  in  one  street,  nearly  a  mile  in  length:  with 
nothing  else  interesting  to  recommend  it  to  notice.  I  stopt 
at  Raume's,  a  German  house  about  the  middle  of  the  town, 
and  apparently  the  best  tavern  in  it.  I  bathed  my  feet  in 
cold  water,  and  dressed  the  left  one  which  was  [35]  much 
blistered  and  very  painful :  Soon  after  which,  my  wagonner 
Jordan,  with  three  others  in  his  company  arriving,  we  aU 
sat  down  together,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country, 
to  a  plentiful  and  good  supper;  after  which,  the  wagonners 
spread  their  mattresses  and  blankets  round  the  stove  in  the 
bar  room,  and  I  retired  to  a  good  bed,  but  without  an  upper 
sheet. 

"  See  note  on  Shippensburg  in  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  238,  note 
76.—  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cumtng's  Tour  to  the  West  5 1 

Monday,  26th  January,  at  half  past  ten;  I  proceeded 
towards  Strasburgh,  in  preference  to  keeping  the  stage  road 
to  the  left  through  Chambersburgh,"  as  I  shortened  the 
road  eight  miles  in  a  distance  of  thirty-eight,  to  where  the 
two  roads  again  met. 

The  country  to  Strasburgh,  eleven  miles,  is  well  inhabited, 
and  the  soil  is  tolerably  good;  and  the  Blue  mountains  are 
full  in  front,  extending  to  the  right  and  left  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach.  Those  mountains  are  not  higher  than  the  high- 
lands on  Hudson  river  above  New  York,  about  2500  feet 
perpendicular  from  the  plain  below,  from  which  they  rise 
abruptly,  and  the  road  is  seen  winding  up  their  side  to  a 
small  gap  near  the  top,  which  separates  from  the  main 
ridge  a  pyramidal  knob,  which,  apparently  higher  [36]  than 
the  ridge,  seems  to  hang  directly  over  Strasburgh.  I  met  on 
the  road,  two  wagons  with  six  horses  each,  from  Zanesville 
in  the  state  of  Ohio,  going  to  Philadelphia  for  goods: — 
They  had  been  a  month  on  the  road.  At  two  miles  from 
Strasburgh,  I  past  a  direction  post  on  the  left  pointing  to 
Cummins's  mills,  and  at  i  o'clock  I  entered  that  town  and 
stopt  at  Bell's,  the  last  tavern  on  the  left.  As  there  was  no 
beer  in  the  house,  they  had  to  send  for  it  to  Merkel's,  a 


^'  Chambersburgh  is  a  thriving  town,  capital  of  Franklin  co.,  Pennsylvania,  162 
miles  east  of  Pittsburgh,  the  mail  route,  and  11  beyond  the  Big  Cove  mountain. 
The  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  mail  stages  meet  here,  the  former  three  times  a 
week,  the  latter  twice  a  week,  this  circumstance,  with  other  advantages,  makes 
it  a  tolerable  lively  place.  It  contains  about  250  houses,  has  two  paper  mills,  a 
grist  mill  in  the  town,  and  several  others  within  a  short  distance,  all  turned  by  a 
spring  which  heads  about  two  miles  from  the  town.  An  original  bank  has  been 
lately  established  here,  with  a  capital  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars,  Edward 
Crawford,  president,  A.  Colhoun,  cashier.  Two  weekly  papers  are  published  here, 
one  of  which  is  German.  It  has  a  number  of  mercantile  houses,  and  taverns  in 
plenty,  some  of  which  are  well  kept,  and  principally  by  Germans.  The  stage- 
master  here  is  a  Mr.  Davis,  formerly  of  M'Connellstown  —  He  is  well  spoken  of 
for  his  attention  and  politeness  to  passengers,  a  very  necessary  qualification  for  a 
stage-master. —  Cramer. 

• 


5  2  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

German  house.  And  here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe 
that  the  German  taverns  on  these  roads,  are  generally  better 
provided  with  both  liquors  and  provisions,  than  the  English 
or  Irish,  but  their  manners  are  not  the  most  agreeable,  they 
being  very  inattentive  to  any  of  the  wants  of  a  traveller, 
except  the  providing  his  meals,  and  the  bringing  him  what 
liquor  he  calls  for. 

It  is  twelve  years  since  Strasburgh  was  laid  out.  It  con- 
tains about  fifty  indifferent  houses,  and  does  not  seem  to  be 
thriving. 

At  two  o'clock,  I  began  to  ascend  the  North  or  Blue 
mountains,  immediately  from  Strasburgh. —  After  ascending 
about  a  mile,  I  stopped  and  rested  at  a  hut,  the  only  dwelling 
on  the  passage  over  the  mountain.  Proceeding  from  hence, 
I  was  overtaken  a  little  higher  up  by  a  man  driving  before 
him  his  horse  loaded  with  a  bag  of  wheat.  We  entered  into 
conversation,  and  he  entertained  me  with  his  exploits,  in 
killing  bears,"  wolves,  racoons,  and  foxes,  [37]  which  abound 
on  these  mountains,  as  well  as  deer,  wild  turkeys,  pheasants, 
and  squirrels.  I  stopped  occasionally,  to  observe  the  view 
behind  me,  which  though  a  good  deal  impeded  by  the  trees, 
is  nevertheless  very  extensive,  over  a  woody  country,  termi- 
nated by  the  long  range  of  the  South  mountain,  extending 

*^  In  the  New  York  Medical  Repository,  vol.  5,  page  343-4,  we  find  the  following 
curious  facts  concerning  the  mode  of  generation  in  the  American  bear. 

"The  singular  departure  from  the  common  course  of  nature  in  the  procreation 
of  the  opossimi  and  the  shark,  are  already  known;  but  the  manner  in  which  the 
foetus  is  matured  by  the  female  bear  is  not  so  generally  understood.  The  following 
information  was  given  to  Mr.  Franklin,  senator  of  the  United  States  from  North 
Carolina,  by  the  hunters.  This  animal  hybemates,  and,  during  the  winter,  retires 
to  hollow  trees  and  caverns,  but  does  not  become  torpid,  or  sink  into  the  sleeping 
state.  Though  found  often  in  great  niunbers  on  the  frontier  settlements,  and 
frequently  killed  and  eaten  by  the  inhabitants,  there  has  never  been  an  instance 
of  a  female  killed  in  a  pregnant  condition,  or  big  with  young.  The  reason  is,  that 
almost  inmiediately  after  conception,  the  foetus,  while  shapeless,  and  resembling 
merely  a  small  animated  lump,  is  excluded  from  the  womb.    Thus  bom,  and  ex- 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  53 

from  the  banks  of  the  Susquehannah  below  Harrisburgh  to 
the  S.W.  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  Though  extensive,  it 
is  however  an  uninteresting  prospect,  as  though  I  saw  many 
patches  of  cleared  land,  the  town  of  Shippensburgh  twelve 
miles  distant,  and  Strasburgh  directly  under  me; —  wood  with 
its  (at  this  season)  brown,  sombre  hue,  is  the  prevailing 
feature.  After  ascending  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Strasburgh, 
I  came  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  looked  down  on  the 
other  side  into  a  dark  narrow  romantick  vale  called  Horse 
valley,  with  the  two  Skinner's  good  farms,  still  house  and  mill, 
and  Conodogwinnet  [38]  creek  gliding  through  the  middle 
towards  the  N.E.;  while  the  middle  mountain,  rose  imme- 
diately opposite  me,  from  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  the 
summit  of  it  apparently  not  a  mile  distant  from  where  I 
stood,  though  in  reality  it  is  three  miles,  so  -much  is  the  eye 
deceived  by  the  depth  of  the  intermediate  vale. 

At  4  o'clock,  I  stopped  at  Skinner's,  where  at  my  particu- 
lar request,  I  was  gratified  with  hasty  pudding  or  mush,  as 
it  is  called  in  this  state,  with  plenty  of  good  milk  and  apple 
pye  for  supper.  My  host  was  bom  near  Woodbridge  in 
Jersey,  from  whence  his  father  had  removed  to  this  country 
many  years  ago.  There  are  now  about  twenty  families 
settled  in  the  valley,  which  extends  from  the  south  end 

posed  to  the  open  air,  it  has  no  connection  with  the  teat  like  the  opossum,  nor  with 
an  egg  like  the  shark.  There  is  no  trace  of  a  placenta  nor  umbilical  vessels. 
The  growth  of  this  rudiment  of  a  futiure  bear  is  supposed  to  be  promoted  by  licking; 
and  the  saliva  of  the  dam,  or  some  other  fluid  from  her  mouth,  appears  to  afford  it 
nourishment.  In  the  course  of  time,  and  imder  such  management,  the  limbs 
and  organs  are  evolved,  the  surface  covered  with  hair,  and  the  yovmg  cub  at  length 
rendered  capable  of  attending  its  parent.  Thus  far  the  inquiries  of  the  hunters 
have  gone.  The  facts  are  so  curious,  that  the  subject  is  highly  worthy  of  further 
investigation.  And  when  the  entire  history  of  the  process  of  generation  in  this 
animal  shall  be  known,  new  light  will  be  shed  upon  one  of  the  most  obscure  parts 
of  physiology.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  gentlemen  whose  opportunities  are  favourable 
to  the  prosecution  of  this  inquiry,  will  furnish  the  learned  world  shortly  with  the 
whole  of  these  mysterious  phenomena.' ' —  Cramer. 


54  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

twelve  miles  above  Skinner's,  to  a  gap  in  the  Blue  mountains 
five  miles  below,  through  which  the  Conodogwinnet  flows 
from  its  source  at  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  which  it 
waters  in  its  whole  length  of  seventeen  miles,  to  join  the 
Susquehannah  near  Harrisburgh,  forty  miles  distant. 

One  Wagstaff,  formerly  an  English  soldier,  who  had  been 
wounded  and  made  a  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth, 
and  now  a  farmer  near  Pittsburgh,  and  a  lad  returning 
home  to  the  same  neighbourhood,  after  assisting  to  drive 
a  herd  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  hogs  to  Philadelphia,  which 
had  employed  him  a  month,  put  up  here  for  the  night,  and  I 
was  much  amused  with  the  anecdotes  of  the  old  soldier  and 
my  host,  who  had  also  been  a  soldier  on  the  patriotick  side, 
during  the  revolutionary  war.  They  had  been  opposed 
to  each  other  in  several  battles,  and  reminded  each  other 
of  many  incidents  which  happened  at  them.  My  land- 
lord was  a  politician,  but  his  system  of  politicks  and  his 
general  ideas  were  completely  original.  Amongst  other 
topicks,  Col.  Burr's  present  situation  and  intentions  were 
discussed,  when  our  host  gave  it  as  his  decided  opinion, 
that  he  had  secured  [39]  the  friendship  and  assistance  of  a 
warlike  and  powerful  nation  of  Indians,  inhabiting  a  country 
on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  about  1500  miles  in  circum- 
ference, where  is  the  celebrated  mountain  of  salt.  That 
they  fought  on  horseback  and  were  armed  with  short 
Spanish  caribines;  and  that  with  their  aid  he  meant  to 
conquer  Mexico,  and  erect  an  empire  independent  of  both 
Spaniards  and  Americans. 

Mrs.  Skinner  was  confined  to  her  bed  in  an  advanced 
stage  of  a  consumption:  I  recommended  her  inhaling  the 
steam  of  melted  rosin  and  bees-wax,  and  wrote  directions 
for  her  accordingly.  When  I  retired  to  rest,  I  had  once 
more  the  luxury  of  clean  sheets  and  a  good  bed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  ^^ 

CHAPTER  V 

Another  traveller  —  The  middle  mountain  —  Fannetsburgh 
—  Good  effect  of  hunger  in  destroying  fastidiousness  — 
Tuscarora  mountain  and  fine  view  —  Ramsey's  —  Change 
my  mode  of  travelling  —  Hull's  —  Fall  from  my  horse  — 
Sideling  hill  —  Coyle's  good  tavern  — Curious  scene  at 
another  tavern  —  Ray's  hill  —  River  Juniata  —  Bloody 
run  —  Bedford. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  January,  I  took  leave  of 
my  friendly  host  Skinner,  and  passing  his  brothers  about  a 
mile  distant,  I  was  joined  by  another  pedestrian  traveller, 
who  had  left  Strasburgh  that  morning,  and  had  stopped  here 
to  rest  previous  to  ascending  the  middle  mountain.  He 
walked  on  stoutly,  and  I  limped  after  him,  my  foot  paining 
me  very  much.  He  was  a  plain  countryman  from  Down- 
patrick  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  who  had  formerly  [40]  resided 
near  Carlisle,  from  whence  he  had  removed  to  the  western 
part  of  the  state,  where  his  health  having  suffered  through  a 
general  debility,  he  had  returned  two  hundred  miles  to  his 
former  residence  for  medical  aid,  had  remained  there  since 
the  fall  under  a  course  of  medicine  and  diet,  and  his  health 
being  now  re-established,  he  was  again  going  to  the  western 
country. 

When  on  the  top  of  the  middle  mountain  about  two  miles 
from  Skinner's,  our  eyes  were  regaled  with  a  charming  birds- 
eye  view  of  some  fine  cultivated  farms  in  Path  valley  just 
below  us,  with  the  village  of  Fannetsburgh  of  thirty  houses  in 
the  midst,  watered  by  a  fine  mill  stream  called  the  Conogo- 
cheaque  in  its  southerly  course  towards  the  Potomack. 

The  scenery  here  reminded  me  of  some  of  the  vales  of 
Switzerland,  but  appetite  for  breakfast  urging  me  on  towards 
the  village  below,  I  did  not  bestow  much  time  in  contem- 
plating it. 


^6  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

I  now  proved  that  **  hunger  is  a  good  sauce,"  for  I  made 
a  hearty  meal  at  M' Galium' s,  spite  of  a  dirty  room,  a  sickly 
woman,  and  bad  tea,  which  last  even  when  good,  I  disap- 
prove of,  especially  for  breakfast,  but  having  always  had 
coffee  hitherto,  without  ordering  it,  I  had  neglected  doing 
so  now,  and  I  was  too  hungry  and  too  scrupulous  of  giving 
trouble  to  direct  or  await  a  change.  This  was  the  second 
sickly  landlady  I  had  seen  amongst  these  mountains,  which 
has  impressed  me  with  an  idea,  that  the  air  is  too  keen  and 
trying  for  delicate  constitutions. 

When  I  returned  into  the  bar  room,  from  the  breakfast 
parlour,  if  a  small  dirty  room  with  a  bed  in  it  deserves  that 
appellation,  I  found  a  traveller  in  it,  who  had  two  horses 
at  the  door,  the  use  of  one  of  which  he  had  offered  to  my 
fellow  pedestrian  (who,  as  he  carried  provision  in  a  knap- 
sack, had  not  breakfasted  with  me,)  on  condition  of  his 
being  at  the  expence  of  feeding  him  on  the  road.  He  was 
[41]  just  declining  the  offer  as  I  entered,  so  I  embraced  it 
gladly,  and  the  young  man  agreed  to  take  me  up  as  soon  as 
he  should  overtake  me  on  the  road,  as  he  had  to  await  his 
brother  who  was  to  accompany  him,  and  I  expressed  a 
wish  to  walk  before  over  the  Tuscarora  mountain,  both  to 
enjoy  the  scenery,  and  to  avoid  the  danger  of  riding  over 
it  three  miles,  with  the  road  in  many  parts  like  glass,  from 
the  freezing  of  the  snow  after  a  partial  thaw.  I  set  off  with 
my  former  companion,  who  I  had  regaled  with  a  gill  of 
whiskey,  but  as  I  occasionally  stopped  to  admire  the  beau- 
ties of  nature  in  that  mountainous  and  romantick  district, 
he  not  being  equally  struck  with  them,  preferred  making 
the  best  of  his  way,  so  walked  on  before,  and  separated 
from  me  without  ceremony,  which  I  was  not  sorry  for, 
as  it  left  me  more  at  liberty  and  leisure  to  proceed  as  I 
pleased. 

As  I  ascended,  the  views  of  the  valley  behind  were  very 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  ^j 

fine,  through  and  over  the  large  heavy  pines  which  cover 
the  face  of  the  mountain;  but  when  near  the  top,  the  pros- 
pect to  the  southward  was  really  sublime,  of  the  valley  in  its 
whole  length  that  way,  finely  cultivated  and  watered,  bound- 
ed by  distant  pyramidal  mountains,  isolated  and  uncon- 
nected with  either  of  the  ridges  divided  by  the  valley  in  a 
long  vista,  about  two  miles  wide.  From  the  summit  of  the 
Tuscarora  ridge,  the  view  to  the  westward,  though  extensive, 
was  cheerless  and  gloomy,  over  a  broken  and  mountainous 
or  rather  hilly  country,  covered  with  forests,  chiefly  of  the 
dark  and  sombre  pine,  which  would  have  rendered  me 
quite  dispirited,  if  I  had  not  anticipated  a  speedy  journey 
through  it  on  horseback. 

At  the  western  foot  of  the  mountain  I  stopped  at  Ramsey's, 
an  innkeeper,  farmer,  saddler  and  distiller,  who  has  a 
fine  farm,  and  a  good  house  (I  mean  literally,  but  not  as  a 
tavern)  —  It  was  noon,  Mr.  Ramsey  with  a  stranger,  seated 
himself  to  dinner,  while  [42]  his  wife  in  the  patriarchal  mode, 
very  common  in  this  country,  attended  table.  I  contented 
myself  with  a  tumbler  of  egg  punch,  which  I  had  just  swal- 
lowed, as  my  horsemen  rode  past,  calling  out  that  they  would 
await  me  at  the  distillery,  where  I  accordingly  joined  them, 
drank  a  dram  of  new  whiskey  with  the  hospitable  dis- 
tiller, mounted  my  mare,  threw  away  my  cudgel,  and 
trotted  off  briskly  with  my  new  companions. 

The  road  was  good,  but  the  country  broken,  thinly  in- 
habited and  poor;  pine  woods  on  each  hand  —  a  red  gravelly 
soil,  and  a  wretched  looking  log  hut  at  every  two  or  three 
miles  with  a  few  acres  cleared  round  it,  but  the  stumps,  or 
girdled  trees  still  standing.  We  stopped  to  feed  our  horses 
at  one,  about  six  miles  from  Ramsey's,  which  was  the  resi- 
dence of  an  old  man  named  Hull,  who  had  removed  here 
from  Lancaster  a  few  years  ago.  The  large  fire,  cleanli- 
ness, and  air  of  plenty,  which  I  found  within,  was  the  more 


58  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

enjoyed,  from  the  contrast  with  the  wretched  appearance 
without. 

On  remounting,  my  mare  started,  and  a  bag  of  rye  and 
com  for  provender  which  was  on  the  saddle  under  me, 
falling  off,  I  fell  with  it.  One  of  my  companions  checked 
his  horse  suddenly  and  threw  himself  off  to  assist  me,  and  I 
was  under  both  horses'  feet  for  some  seconds;  but  seizing 
the  forefeet  of  the  horse  from  which  I  apprehended  the  great- 
est danger,  I  pulled  them  towards  me,  threw  him  down,  and 
at  the  same  time  scrambling  from  under  him,  I  providen- 
tially escaped  with  only  a  slight  bruise  on  my  left  leg,  and  a 
rent  in  my  pantaloons.  My  gun  which  was  loaded,  and 
which  I  carried  slung  at  my  back,  was  thrown  some  distance 
from  me  without  injury. 

We  soon  after  overtook  my  late  foot  companion,  who  I 
believe  now  regretted  that  he  had  not  prevented  my  ride, 
as  he  seemed  a  good  deal  fatigued.  We  advised  him  to 
bargain  for  a  ride  with  a  packer  with  [43]  two  light  horses, 
who  we  had  past  a  little  way  behind,  and  we  pushed  on  to 
a  mountain  called  Sideling-hill,  eight  miles  from  Hull's; 
which  we  ascended  a  mile,  and  then  put  up  for  the  night,  at 
a  very  good  tavern,  kept  by  Daniel  Coyle,  who  also  owns 
a  fine  farm  between  the  ridges  of  the  mountain. 

I  got  an  excellent  supper  alone,  my  fellow  travellers  car- 
r)dng  their  provisions  with  them:  I  had  also  a  good  bed 
with  sheets,  but  the  pain  of  my  blistered  foot,  which  had  been 
augmented  by  hanging  from  the  saddle  in  riding,  prevented 
my  closing  my  eyes  to  sleep  until  three  o'clock,  when  as 
exhausted  nature  was  just  beginning  to  induce  a  temporary 
oblivion  of  pain,  James  Wilson  the  oldest  of  my  fellow 
travellers  called  us  to  horse,  as  he  said,  we  must  this  day 
make  a  journey  of  upwards  of  forty  miles.  His  brother 
William,  who  like  myself  had  never  travelled  that  road 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  59 

before,  was  obliged  to  acquiesce,  though  unwillingly,  so 
rather  than  lose  my  horse  I  complied  also,  and  we  were  on 
the  road  in  half  an  hour  after. 

After  riding  four  miles  on  a  continued  ridge  of  Sideling- 
hill,  we  stopped  at  a  log  tavern  to  pick  up  the  old  soldier 
Wagstaff,  whose  stories  had  amused  me  so  much  at  Skin- 
ner's in  Horse  valley,  and  who  was  a  neighbour  of  Wilson's. 
He  had  the  hog-driving  lad  still  with  him,  and  one  horse 
between  them  which  they  rode  alternately. 

It  was  not  yet  day,  and  the  scene  in  the  tavern  was,  to  me, 
truly  novel.  It  was  a  large  half  finished  log  house,  with  no 
apparent  accommodation  for  any  traveller  who  had  not 
his  own  bed  or  blanket.  It  was  surrounded  on  the  outside 
by  wagons  and  horses,  and  inside,  the  whole  floor  was  so 
filled  with  people  sleeping,  wrapped  in  their  blankets  round 
a  large  fire,  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  approaching  it 
to  get  warm,  until  some  of  the  travellers  who  had  awoke  at 
our  entrance,'went  out  to  feed  their  horses,  after  doing  which, 
they  returned,  drank  whiskey  under  [44]  the  name  of  bitters, 
and  resumed  their  beds  on  the  floor  —  singing,  laughing, 
joking,  romping,  and  apparently  as  happy  as  possible.  So 
much  for  custom. 

About  four  miles  from  hence,  we  descended  the  western 
side  of  Sideling-hill  mountains,  here  called  Rays-hill,  at  the 
foot  of  which  we  forded  the  river  Juniata,  a  beautiful 
stream,  about  sixty  yards  wide,  which  after  meandering  in  a 
wonderful  manner  through  this  mountainous  part  of  the 
country  upwards  of  200  miles,  through  a  space  of  not  more 
than  100  of  a  direct  line,  falls  into  the  Susquehannah  about 
twenty  miles  above  Harrisburgh;  in  all  which  distance  it  is 
navigable  for  large  flat  boats,  of  which  considerable  num- 
bers are  employed  transporting  the  abundant  produce  of 
those  remote  regions  to  the  Susquehannah,  and  down  that 


6o  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

river  to  Baltimore,  from  whence  it  finds  its  way  to  Europe, 
destined  to  assist  in  feeding  those  countries,  which  gave 
birth  to  the  ancestors  of  the  cultivators  of  this. 

After  crossing  the  Juniata,  we  pursued  our  road  through 
a  broken  country,  very  hilly,  with  the  river  almost  always  in 
sight,  sometimes  on  one  hand  and  sometimes  on  the  other,  as 
its  bends  approached  or  receded  from  the  road,  and  sometimes 
directly  under  us  at  the  foot  of  terrifick  precipices,  down 
one  of  which,  about  twenty  years  ago,  a  wagon  was  carried 
by  the  horses,  falling  3  or  400  feet  perpendicular  —  The 
wagonner  and  horses  were  killed,  and  the  wagon  was  dashed 
to  pieces. 

At  three  miles  and  a  half  from  the  ford,  we  stopped  to 
feed  our  horses  at  a  small  log  tavern,  where  was  a  large 
family,  with  three  or  four  very  pretty  girls,  who  forfeited 
the  admiration  they  would  otherwise  have  commanded,  by 
being  covered  with  the  itch,  which  made  me  cautious  how 
I  ordered  any  thing  to  eat  or  drink,  although  I  could  have 
done  justice  to  a  good  breakfast. 

The  same  kind  of  country  continues  to  Bedford,  [45]  the 
road  leading  through  two  remarkable  defiles  between  the 
mountains,  which  as  well  as  the  river  sometimes  approach 
and  sometimes  recede,  the  country  gradually  improving 
both  in  population  and  quality  of  soil  as  we  advanced. 

At  three  miles  from  where  we  fed  our  horses,  we  passed 
through  a  village  of  a  dozen  houses,  called  Bloody  run,  in 
memory  of  a  massacre  by  the  Indians  of  about  250  militia,^ 
while  escorting  a  convoy  of  provisions  to  the  western  frontier, 
soon  after  Braddock's  defeat  near  Pittsburgh." 

*'  Jones,  History  of  Juniata  Valley  (Philadelphia,  1856)  gives  a  different  origin 
for  the  tenn  '  *  Bloody  Run.' '  He  derives  it  from  the  attempt  of  the  inhabitants,  in 
the  spring  of  1765,  to  arrest  a  convoy  that  was  being  sent  by  the  Pennsylvania 
authorities  to  Pittsburg  with  presents  for  the  Indians.  An  EngUsh  oflScer  reporting 
the  action,  said  that  the  creek  "ran  with  blood."  For  the  effect  of  this  affair  on 
the  pacification  of  the  Indians,  see  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  vii,  p.  716.  For 
the  history  of  Bedford,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  240,  note  81. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  6 1 

Three  miles  further,  we  passed  a  hamlet  of  three  or  four 
houses,  called  Snake-spring,  from  an  immense  number  of 
snakes  discovered  there  in  a  hole  and  killed:  And  in  four 
miles  more,  at  11  o'clock,  we  entered  Bedford,  crossing  two 
bridges  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  one  over  Crooked  creek, 
and  the  other  over  the  west  or  Raystown  branch,  which 
uniting  a  little  below,  form  the  Juniata. 

We  put  up  at  Fleming's  and  fed  the  horses  while  I  break- 
fasted. When  ready  to  proceed,  I  mounted,  but  found  my 
mare  so  lame,  that  I  was  obliged  to  remain  behind,  while 
my  companions  endeavoured  to  get  her  along  by  driving 
her  before  them. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Bedford  —  Travellers  and  travelling  —  Whiskey  preferred 
to  victuals  and  necessaries  —  Obliging  disposition  of  in- 
habitants—  A  musical  and  social  judge  —  Departure  in 
the  stage  —  The  Allegheny  mountains  —  Somerset  — 
Good  inn  —  A  murder  —  visit  to  the  gaol. 

Making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  I  consoled  myself  imder 
my  disappointment,  by  restoring  to  my  constitution  the 
equilibrium  of  rest,  which  it  was  deprived  [46]  of  last  night, 
by  the  anguish  of  my  foot,  and  the  impatience  of  the  elder 
Wilson;  I  accordingly  went  to  bed,  and  enjoyed  an  hour's 
refreshing  repose,  after  which  I  arose  and  sauntered  about 
the  house  until  supper  was  announced,  which  I  partook  of 
with  my  civil  and  attentive  host  and  hostess  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fleming. 

Soon  after  supper,  five  travellers  from  the  N.  W.  part  of 
the  state,  arrived  on  horseback,  with  whom  I  conversed 
until  bed  time.  They  were  on  their  way  to  Baltimore,  and 
were  plain  Irishmen,  uninformed  of  any  thing  beyond  their 
own  business,  which  appeared  to  be  that  of  packers,  or 
travelling  merchants,  who  vend  groceries  and  various  mer- 
chandize through  the  country. 


62  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  travelling  on  these  roads  in  every  direction  is  truly 
astonishing,  even  at  this  inclement  season,  but  in  the  spring 
and  fall,  I  am  informed  that  it  is  beyond  all  conception. 

Apropos  of  travelling  —  A  European,  who  had  not  ex- 
perienced it,  could  form  no  proper  idea  of  the  manner  of  it 
in  this  country.  The  travellers  are,  wagonners,  carrying 
produce  to,  and  bringing  back  foreign  goods  from  the  differ- 
ent shipping  ports  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantick,  particu- 
larly Philadelphia  and  Baltimore;  —  Packers  with  from  one 
to  twenty  horses,  selling  or  trucking  their  wares  through  the 
country;  —  Countrymen,  sometimes  alone,  sometimes  in 
large  companies,  carrying  salt  from  M'Connelstown,  and 
other  points  of  navigation  on  the  Potomack  and  Susque- 
hannah,  for  the  curing  of  their  beef,  pork,  venison,  &c. ;  — 
Families  removing  further  back  into  the  country,  some  with 
cows,  oxen,  horses,  sheep,  and  hogs,  and  all  their  farming 
implements  and  domestick  utensils,  and  some  without;  some 
with  wagons,  some  with  carts  and  some  on  foot,  according 
to  their  abilities :  —  The  residue,  who  made  use  of  the  best 
accommodations  on  the  roads,  are  country  merchants,  [47] 
judges  and  lawyers  attending  the  courts,  members  of  the 
legislature,  and  the  better  class  of  settlers  removing  back. 
All  the  first  four  descriptions  carry  provisions  for  themselves 
and  horses,  live  most  miserably,  and  wrapped  in  blankets, 
occupy  the  floor  of  the  bar  rooms  of  the  taverns  where  they 
stop  each  night,  which  the  landlords  give  them  the  use  of, 
with  as  much  wood  as  they  choose  to  burn,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  money  they  pay  them  for  whiskey,  of  which  they 
drink  great  quantities,  expending  foolishly,  for  that  which 
poisons  them,  as  much  money  as  would  render  them  com- 
fortable otherwise.  —  So  far  do  they  carry  this  mania  for 
whiskey,  that  to  procure  it,  they  in  the  most  niggardly  manner 
deny  themselves  even  the  necessaries  of  life;  and,  as  I  was 
informed  by  my  landlord  Fleming,  an  observing  and  rational 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  63 

man,  countrymen  while  attending  the  courts  (for  they  are 
generally  involved  in  litigation,  of  which  they  are  very  fond) 
occupy  the  bar  rooms  of  the  taverns  in  the  country  towns, 
for  several  days  together,  making  one  meal  serve  them  each 
day,  and  sometimes  two,  and  even  three  days  —  but  drink- 
ing whiskey  without  bounds  during  the  same  time.  The 
latter  description  of  travellers  —  the  merchants,  lawyers, 
&c.  travel  as  in  other  countries  —  making  use  of  and  paying 
for  their  regular  meals,  beds,  &c. 

The  pain  of  my  foot  having  been  much  alleviated,  by  an 
application  of  bran  and  vinegar  all  night,  the  next  morning 
after  my  arrival  in  Bedford,  I  walked  out  into  the  town,  and 
having  occasion  to  call  at  some  tradesmen's  shops,  and  at  an- 
other excellent  tavern  where  the  stage  from  the  eastward 
stops,  as  that  from  the  westward  does  at  Fleming's,  I  was 
much  gratified  with  the  civility  and  desire  to  please,  which 
I  observed  throughout,  which  impressed  me  much  in 
favour  of  the  place,  and  the  impression  was  heightened 
by  another  circumstance  that  forenoon.  I  had  sat  down 
to  write,  and  while  engaged  at  it,  the  bar  [48]  keeper, 
who  had  been  amusing  himself  with  an  octave  flute,  of  which 
I  had  made  a  pocket  companion,  opened  the  door,  and  in- 
troduced a  gentleman  of  the  middle  age,  who  I  supposed  to 
be  a  traveller;  but  he  soon  undeceived  me,  by  telling  me  that 
he  had  been  informed  I  was  fond  of  musick,  and  that  I  had 
a  German  flute  with  me,  which  was  also  his  instrument, 
and  he  had  taken  the  liberty  of  calling  on  me  to  inform  me, 
that  there  was  a  musical  society  in  Bedford,  of  which  he  was 
a  member,  and  that  he  would  convene  it  that  evening  for  my 
amusement,  if  I  would  assist  them  by  taking  a  part.  I  ex- 
cused myself  on  account  of  the  pain  of  my  foot,  and  also  on 
my  flute  being  an  octave.  He  then  hoped  a  glass  of  punch 
would  be  acceptable,  which  I  declined,  saying,  I  never 
drank  spirits  of  any  description.    There  was  something 


64  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

perhaps  ungracious  in  my  refusal  of  his  proffered  civilities, 
for  he  appeared  hurt,  and  made  a  movement  to  depart,  but 
I  made  my  peace,  and  prevailed  on  him  to  give  me  half  an 
hour  of  his  company,  by  observing  that  although  I  was  a  bad 
fellow  with  respect  to  the  bottle,  I  nevertheless  enjoyed  very 
much  the  society  of  the  well  bred  and  well  informed,  and 
felt  myself  much  obliged  to  him  for  his  polite  attention.  He 
proved  to  be  a  man  of  good  theoretick  information,  but  with 
little  practical  worldly  knowledge.  From  a  desire  to  appear 
to  merit  the  compliment  I  had  paid  him,  he  was  particularly 
studious  of  his  language,  measuring  each  word,  and  weigh- 
ing every  sentence  before  he  gave  it  utterance;  —  prefacing 
each  speech  with  "If  I  may  be  permitted  to  hazard  an 
opinion,"  —  "According  to  my  local  ideas,"  and  other 
set  phrases  to  M  up  the  vacuum,  while  considering  what  he 
should  next  say  on  the  subject  under  discussion.  We  talked 
of  the  country  —  of  robberies  —  murders  and  accidents,  and 
at  last  he  bade  me  good  morning;  setting  me  down,  no 
doubt,  as  a  poor  devil  without  soul,  who  would  [49]  not 
drink  spirits.     On  his  taking  leave,  "my  name.  Sir,  said  he 

is  S it  would  perhaps  be  an  unwarrantable  liberty  to 

ask  yours,"  "Not  at  all.  Sir,  mine  is ."     Mrs.  Fleming 

afterwards  told  me  that  he  was  one  of  the  associate  judges 
of  the  county,  "a  very  clever  and  fine  spoken  man,"  but 
rather  over  fond  of  the  universal  enemy;  —  that  he  had 
lost  considerable  property,  but  that  his  wife's  fortune  being 
secured  to  herself,  enabled  him  to  still  enjoy  some  of  the 
comforts  of  life. 

This  afternoon  my  wagonner  arrived,  and  went  on,  ap- 
pointing to  be  in  Pittsburgh  on  the  Friday  or  Saturday  even- 
ing of  next  week. 

Bedford  the  capital  of  a  county  of  the  same  name,  is  very 
romantically  situated  —  being  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by 
low  mountains  covered  with  woods  except  on  the  north, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  65 

towards  which  point  is  a  long  vista,  so  that  it  has  not  unaptly 
been  compared  to  a  barber's  bason,  with  the  rim  cut  out 
on  one  side  for  the  chin.  It  was  considered  as  a  frontier 
only  about  twenty  years  ago;  when  some  of  the  stoccado 
which  had  defended  it  when  it  had  a  garrison,  was  still  to 
be  seen."  It  now  contains  about  80  houses,  of  brick,  stone 
and  logs.  It  has  a  court-house,  a  gaol,  and  school-house, 
and  I  was  informed  that  a  house  is  used  as  a  place  of  worship 
for  any  Christian  sect,  and  that  sometimes  a  travelling 
minister  of  one  or  other  of  the  various  divisions  into  which, 
to  its  disgrace,  Christianity  is  split,  stops  to  remind  the  in- 
habitants of  their  religious  duties.^" 

[50]  Apropos  of  religion. —  Asking  for  a  book  last  night, 
my  landlord  sent  me  Richard  Brother's  prophecies,  with 
which  farrago  of  enthusiastick  madness,  I  read  myself  to 
sleep.  The  town  is  supplied  with  water  from  a  spring  half 
a  mile  distant,  by  means  of  wooden  pipes,  which  conduct  it  to 
a  reservoir  in  the  centre:  And  some  chalybeate  springs 
strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur,  have  lately  been  dis- 
covered in  the  neighbourhood;  to  which,  according  to 
custom,  whether  with  justice  or  otherwise,  great  medicinal 
virtues  are  attributed."    This  town  was  incorporated  in 

"  Part  of  the  log  building,  which  formed  the  garrison  here,  and  which  was 
erected  by  the  troops  of  Geo.  III.  king  of  Great  Britain,  still  exists,  and  has  been 
newly  weatherboarded  lately,  and  now  forms  a  kitchen  to  a  tavern. —  Cramer. 

^"  In  the  summer  of  i8og,  the  foundation  of  a  new  Presbyterian  church  was  laid 
in  Bedford  opposite  the  court-house  for  the  Rev  Mr  Boyd's  congregation,  a  young 
clergyman  of  handsome  talents,  and  who  had  settled  here  a  short  time  before. — 
Cramer. 

^  It  is  perhaps  worth  while  for  the  sake  of  a  curious  and  important  fact,  to  men- 
tion the  extraordinary  effects  of  the  water  on  a  gentleman  who  had  visited  this 
spring  in  the  summer  of  1809,  and  who  before  he  left  it,  discharged  from  his  bowels 
a  living  monster,  described  by  some  who  saw  it,  as  a  lizard,  by  others  a  crab,  with 
legs,  claws,  &c.  and  of  considerable  size. — ^The  unhappy  man  had  been  ill  for 
several  years,  without  being  able  to  get  any  relief  by  the  aid  of  skilful  physicians. 
Immediately  after  this,  he  began  to  recover,  and  is  now  in  a  fair  way  of  regaining  his 
health. 

Of  the  four  classes  of  mineral  waters  known,  the  water  of  this  spring  unites  the 


66  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

1794,  and  is  governed  by  two  burgesses,  a  constable,  a 
town  clerk  and  three  assistants. 
[51]  The  31st  day  of  January  at  4  in  the  morning,  I  left 

qualities  of  at  least  three  of  them,  viz.  The  saline,  the  sulphurous,  and  the  martial- 
hut  of  the  second  it  is  lightly  tinctured.  Its  usual  effects  on  people  in  health,  are 
those  of  an  immediate  and  powerful  diuretick,  a  gentle  cathartick,  with  a  consider* 
able  increase  of  perspiration,  and  sometimes  a  sUght  emetick,  this  last  happening  but 
very  seldom.  The  water  may  be  drank  in  great  quantities  with  safety,  from  two  to 
thirty  half  pints,  being  the  usual  quantity  in  the  course  of  an  hour  before  breakfast. 
Some  indeed  drink  fifty  half  pints,  while  others  are  considerably  incommoded  by 
drinking  a  gill,  which  was  the  case  with  Mrs.  Snyder,  wife  of  governor  Snyder, 
whose  death  was  lately  announced.  She  was  at  the  spring,  August  1809,  but  her 
case,  which  was  of  the  consumptive  kind,  w£is  too  far  gone  to  admit  of  recovery.  Not 
being  able  to  take  the  water,  she  tarried  but  a  few  days,  and  returned  to  Lancaster 

with  her  companion.  Miss 

The  following  Latin  poem  written  by  James  Ross,  teacher  of  the  languages  in 
the  Philadelphia  academy,  formerly  of  Chambersburgh,  and  author  of  an  excellent 
grammar,  with  its  translation  in  prose  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Willson,  teacher  of  the  lan- 
guages in  Bedford,  descriptive  of  this  spring,  and  the  quality  of  its  waters,  &c. 
will  be  read  with  pleasure. 

J.  ANDERSON,  M.  D. 

Hos  versiculos  symboliun  amicitiae  inscribit, 

JA.  ROSS, 

IN  PONTEM  BEDFORDI^   SALUTAREM. 

Monte  decurrens,  velut  amnis,  alto, 
Fons,  loquax  nunquam,  tacitus  recedis, 
Abditus  terris,  catebrasque  celans 

Fluminis  unda. 

Non  alis  campos  virides  vel  agios; 
Non  greges  pascis,  vitulosque  vaccas; 
Non  tuae  ripae  generant  leones 

Dente  furentes. 

Sed  tuas  imdas  celebrant  Puellae, 
Femulae  et  Matres,  Puerique  Sponsi, 
Has  Senes  undas  adamant  Anusque 

Ore  bibentes. 

Hisque  gaudentes  Homines  levabunt 
Pectoris  morbos,  capitis  dolores; 
Aurium  sensus,  laterumque  poenas 

Saepe  lavando. 

Has  bibant  isti  quibus  est  podagra; 
Has  quibus  tussis  mala,  nee  fuganda 
Artibus,  cura  aut  Medici  periti; 

Namque  levabunt. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  67 

Bedford  in  the  stage  with  three  gentlemen  and  a  young 
girl  passengers.  It  had  snowed  all  night,  [52]  and  the 
ground  was  covered  some  inches  deep,  so  we  had  to  proceed 

Qiiin  et  aflBicti,  ac  oculisque  lumbis 
Has  bibant  undas,  stomacho  dolentes; 
Pauperes,  dites,  recreentque  corpiis 
Saepe  bibendo. 

Has  bibant  undas  vacui,  salubres; 
Nil  nocent  salus  Puerisve  Nymphis: 
Pauperes  multi  haec,  simul  atque  dites, 
Dicere  possunt. 

Bedfordiae,  (Pennsylvanorum)  quarto  ) 
Kal.  Septembres,  A.D.  1809.        ) 

Bedford  Gazette. 

TRANSLATION 

To  John  Anderson,  M.  D.  the  following  Verses  are  inscribed,  as  a  token  of  Friend- 
ship, by  the  Author  James  Ross 

ON  THE  MEDICINAL  SPRING  OF  BEDFORD 

From  the  base  of  a  lofty  mountain  issuing,  O  fountain,  thy  profusion  of  waters, 
thou  sendest  forth  in  silence,  from  thy  fountain,  deep  in  earth's  womb  embowled, 
them  mingling  with  the  stream,  which  murmurs  below,  thou  loosest.  No  verdant 
plains,  nor  verdant  fields  are  nourished  by  thy  stream  irriguous.  Nor  flocks,  nor 
younglings  of  the  herd  dost  thou  with  food  supply.  To  no  prowling  beasts  of 
prey,  do  thy  shady,  thy  romantick  banks,  afford  shelter  or  refuge.  Hence,  blooming 
virgins  gay,  matrons  old,  and  aged  sires,  and  youths  lately  in  wedlock  joined: 
greatly  delight  to  saunter  along  thy  streams;  and,  in  the  cool  refreshing  shade,  to 
quaff  thy  healing  waters. 

While,  with  heartfelt  satisfaction,  the  valetudinarian,  in  the  waters  of  this  foun- 
tain, laves  himself,  the  diseases  of  the  breast  —  the  pains  of  the  head  —  the  dis- 
tresses of  the  side  —  and  deafness,  which  prevents  the  ear  from  drinking  in  the  rich 
melodies  of  musick,  all  shrink  from  the  healing  efficacy  of  the  healthful  element. 
Let  those  drink  whom  the  gout  torments,  and  those  whom  the  distressing  cough 
annoys,  diseases,  which  yield  not  to  the  art  or  care  of  the  physician,  however  learned. 
In  drinking,  they  certain  aid  shall  find.  The  humble  cottager,  and  wealthy  lord, 
however  weakened  by  disease  shall  re-invigorate  their  systems,  by  drinking  these 
waters.  Tender  eyes  shall  regain  their  strength  —  lost  powers  of  digestion  shall 
again  return  —  and  the  enfeebled  loins,  with  new  strength  be  girded.  Let  the 
sons  of  leisure,  and  votaries  of  amusement,  on  these  health  preserving  waters  regale 
themselves.  The  vigorous  young  man,  and  the  rosy  cheeked,  from  them  receives 
no  harm.    Rich  and  poor  innumerous,  can  well  attest  the  truths  I  sing. 

Ibid. —  Cramer. 


68  Fidrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

slowly  to  break  the  road,  crossing  the  West  branch  of  the 
Juniata  twice  in  the  first  three  miles.  As  day  dawned,  the 
country  appeared  to  be  in  general  rather  better  settled  and 
cultivated  than  on  the  eastern  side  of  Bedford,  but  it  was 
still  very  hilly,  and  wood  was  the  prevailing  feature.  At 
half  past  10,  we  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  Allegheny 
[53]  ridge,  where  we  breakfasted;  and  here  I  found  one  of 
the  advantages  of  travelling  in  the  stage,  was  to  be  charged 
a  sixteenth  of  a  dollar  more  per  meal,  than  if  one  travelled 
in  any  other  way. 

We  were  now  in  Somerset  county,  and  having  changed 
stages,  horses,  and  drivers,  we  ascended  by  a  very  easy 
road  of  one  mile  to  the  top  of  the  highest  ridge  of  land  in 
the  United  States,  to  the  eastward  of  which  all  the  rivers 
flow  to  the  eastward,  to  empty  themselves  into  the  Atlantick 
ocean,  while  to  the  westward,  they  flow  westerly  to  unite 
with  the  Mississippi,  which  is  their  common  aqueduct  to  the 
gulph  of  Mexico." 

The  face  of  the  country  before  us  now  changed  for  the 
better;  not  being  broken  as  to  the  eastward,  but  fine  exten- 
sive levels  and  slopes,  well  inhabited  and  cultivated;  and 
the  ridges  of  hills,  though  long,  not  so  steep,  and  finely 
clothed  with  heavy  wood.  This  was  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  country,  until  we  arrived  at  Somerset,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  county,  14  miles  from  the  top  of  the  Allegheny 
ridge. 

This  is  a  new  town,  having  been  laid  out  and  built  within 
twenty  years:  It  contains  about  seventy  tolerably  good 
houses,  with  a  court-house,  where  upstairs,  is  the  present 
place  of  worship,  common  to  all  sects  like  Bedford,  until  a 
church,  which  is  to  be  in  common  also,  is  erected,  for  which 

"  The  Allegheny  Ridge  is  in  fact  but  twenty-five  hundred  feet  in  height.  The 
White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  Cumberland  Mountains  of  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee  exceed  it  in  altitude. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  69 

the  town  has  petitioned  the  assembly  to  enable  them  to 
raise  $3000  by  lottery. 

We  stopped  at  Webster's  excellent,  comfortable,  and  well 
furnished  inn,  where  we  found  good  fires,  a  good  supper, 
and  a  series  of  the  Baltimore  Daily  Advertiser. 

Since  I  had  come  over  the  three  mountains  between 
Strasburgh  and  Ramsay's,  the  principal  subject  of  conver- 
sation along  the  road,  was  concerning  the  murder  by  two 
Frenchmen  of  a  Mr.  David  Pollock,  on  the  23d  of  this 
month,  on  Allegheny  mountain.  [54]  They  had  shot  him, 
and  when  he  fell  in  consequence  from  his  horse,  they  dragged 
him  off  the  road  into  the  wood,  and  stabbed  him  with  a 
knife  in  several  places.  He  was  soon  after  discovered  dead 
by  a  company  of  packers,  who  had  seen  two  men  but  a 
little  while  before,  and  had  heard  soon  after,  the  reports  of 
a  double  barrelled  gun  carried  by  one  of  them.  This,  and 
the  meeting  of  a  horse  with  a  saddle  and  saddle-bags,  and 
no  rider,  gave  them  a  suspicion,  and  induced  them  to  search 
in  the  wood,  following  the  tracks  of  men  from  the  road  into 
the  wood,  to  the  body.  After  returning  to  the  road  they 
again  saw  the  two  men  whom  they  suspected  come  out  of  the 
woods  before  them.  They  pursued  them,  but  lost  sight 
of  them  at  a  turning  in  the  road,  where  they  again  took  into 
the  woods.  The  packers  rode  on  to  the  next  house  and 
gave  an  alarm,  which  soon  mustered  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbourhood,  who  arming  themselves,  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  murderers.  One  of  them  resisting,  when  discovered, 
was  shot,  and  the  other  apprehended,  and  lodged  in  Somer- 
set gaol. 

I  had  been  informed  that  the  prisoner  neither  spoke,  nor 
understood  English,  and  that  since  his  apprehension,  he 
had  no  interpreter  with  him,  except  a  German  farmer,  who 
understood  French  but  badly.  Impelled  by  humanity,  I 
asked  my  landlord  to  accompany  me  to  visit  him.    He  was 


JO  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

a  poor,  ignorant,  abject,  pusillanimous  wretch  of  the  name 
of  Noel  Hugue,  and  had  lately  arrived  in  America  from 
Marseilles,  where  he  had  been  a  traiteur  or  cook.  He 
denied  the  murder  or  any  knowledge  of  it,  but  his  story  was 
inconsistent  and  dissatisfactory.  On  my  informing  him  of 
the  motives  of  my  visit,  he  was  very  grateful.  I  advised 
him  to  write  to  any  persons  at  New  York  or  Philadelphia, 
where  he  had  staid  some  time  after  his  arrival,  who  might 
have  it  in  their  power  to  send  him  any  testimonial  of  charac- 
ter; [55]  and,  as  I  thought  his  case  desperate,  to  write  to  his 
friends  or  connections  in  France,  and  that  the  court  before 
which  he  would  be  tried,  or  whatever  lawyer  was  charged 
with  his  defence,  would  forward  his  letters.  On  my  return 
to  the  inn  a  Mr.  Leiper,  a  young  gentleman  just  called  to  the 
bar,  requested  me  to  accompany  him  to  the  gaol,  to  inter- 
pret between  him  and  the  prisoner,  as  he  intended  volun- 
tarily to  undertake  his  defence,  although  it  was  so  unpopular 
as  not  to  be  unattended  with  personal  danger,  in  the  irritated 
state  of  mind  of  the  country.  I  complied  with  his  request, 
but  from  the  interview,  I  had  no  reason  to  expect  his  humane 
attempt  would  be,  or  ought  to  be  successful.'^ 

CHAPTER  VII 

Proceed  on  journey  —  Political  parties  —  Laurel-hill  — 
Chesnut-hills  —  Greensburgh  —  Bad  road  —  Fine  pros- 
pect —  Pittsburgh. 

The  I  St  February  at  4  A.  M.  I  left  Somerset  in  a  sleigh,  a 
good  deal  of  snow  having  fallen  the  day  before.  One  of 
the  gentlemen  and  the  little  girl  having  quitted  the  stage, 
my  companions  now  were  only  a  Mr.  M'Kinley,  of  West 

"  This  man  was  hung  at  Somerset  after  April  court,  1807.  He  positively 
denied  to  the  last  of  having  any  knowledge  of  the  crime  for  which  he  was  about  to 
suffer  death.  He  also  declared  his  companion,  who  was  shot  in  taking  him,  inno- 
cent, and  as  having  no  knowledge  of  the  circumstance  of  the  death  of  Pollock. — 
Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  71 

Liberty  near  Wheeling  in  Virginia,  one  of  the  representatives 
in  the  state  assembly,  returning  home  from  Richmond,  and 
a  Mr.  Archer  of  Centreville  in  Ohio,  returning  home  also, 
from  a  circuitous  voyage  and  journey  to  New  Orleans  [56] 
and  Baltimore;  during  which  he  had  visited  the  Havanna, 
and  New  Providence  in  the  Bahamas. —  As  we  all  possessed 
some  information  dififerent  from  each  other,  we  beguiled 
our  journey  by  conversation  pleasantly  enough,  except 
when  politicks  were  introduced,  on  which,  my  fellow  travel- 
lers being  of  opposite  sentiments,  I  was  sometimes  under  the 
necessity  of  starting  some  new  subject,  to  prevent  their  being 
wrought  up  to  an  irritation  of  temper,  which  not  only  pre- 
vented cool  argument,  but  sometimes  in  spite  of  my  en- 
deavours to  the  contrary,  arose  to  such  a  height  as  to  nearly 
approach  to  personalities. 

Politicks,  throughout  the  whole  of  this  country,  seems  to 
be  the  most  irritable  subject  which  can  be  discussed.  There 
are  two  ruling  or  prevailing  parties;  one,  which  styles  itself 
Federal^  founded  originally  on  the  federal  league  or  con- 
stitution which  binds  the  states  to  each  other;  in  contradis- 
tinction to  a  party  which  attempted  to  prevent  the  concur- 
rence of  the  states  to  the  present  constitution,  and  after 
it  was  agreed  to,  made  some  fruitless  attempts  to  disor- 
ganize it,  and  was  called  Antijederal.  The  opposite  party 
is  one  which  has  since  sprung  up  and  styles  itself  the  Demo- 
cratick  Republican.  Since  the  federal  constitution  has 
been  established,  the  first  party  exists  no  longer  except  in 
name.  That  which  assumes  it,  stickles  for  the  offices  of 
government  being  executed  with  a  high  hand,  and  is  there- 
fore accused  of  aristocratick  and  even  of  monarchick  senti- 
ments by  its  opponents,  who  in  their  turn  are  termed  fac- 
tious, and  disorganizers,  by  the  federalists.  They  nickname 
each  other  Aristocrats  and  Democrats,  and  it  is  astonishing 
to  what  a  height  their  mutual  animosity  is  carried.    They 


J  7.  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

are  not  content  with  declaiming  against  each  other  in  con- 
gress, or  in  the  state  legislatures,  but  they  introduce  the 
subject  even  at  the  bars  of  the  judicial  courts,  and  in  the 
pulpits  of  the  places  of  religious  worship.  In  some  places, 
[57]  the  males  who  might  otherwise  be  on  terms  of  friend- 
ship with  each  other,  are,  merely  on  account  of  their  diver- 
sity of  sentiment  on  politicks,  avowed  and  illiberal  enemies; 
and  the  females  carry  the  spirit  of  party  into  their  coteries, 
so  far  as  to  exclude  every  female  whose  husband  is  of  a 
different  political  opinion,  however  amiable,  and  ornamental 
to  society  she  may  be.  The  most  illiberal  opinions  are 
adopted  by  each  party,  and  it  is  sufficient  with  a  federalist 
that  another  man  is  a  republican,  to  pronounce  him  capable 
of  every  crime;  while  the  republican  takes  care  not  to  allow 
the  federalist  the  smallest  of  the  attributes  of  virtue. — Their 
general  difference  of  opinion,  at  last  becomes  particular^  and 
a  mistaken  point  of  honour  frequently  hurries  the  one  or  the 
other  maniack  into  a  premature  grave. — The  political  wheel 
is  kept  in  constant  motion  by  those  two  parties,  who  monopo- 
lize it  to  themselves,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  moderate,  well 
disposed,  and  best  informed  part  of  the  community;  who 
quietly  pursue  their  several  avocations,  lamenting  at,  yet 
amused  by  the  bickerings,  disputes  and  quarrels  of  the 
turbulent  and  ambitious  leaders  of  the  parties,  and  their 
ignorant,  prejudiced  and  obstinate  tools  —  satisfied  with 
the  unexampled  prosperity  they  enjoy  as  a  people  and  a 
nation  —  and  equally  watchful  perhaps  to  guard  against 
tyranny  or  licentiousness,  with  the  violent  and  avowed  op- 
ponents of  both. 

After  travelling  seven  miles  through  the  glades,  a  rather 
barren  and  thinly  settled  plain,  we  crossed  a  bridge  over 
Laurel  hill  creek,  a  mile  beyond  which  we  began  to  ascend 
Laurel  hill,  which  we  continued  to  do  two  miles  further  to 
Evart's  tavern,  where  we  breakfasted.    Six  miles  more, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  73 

brought  us  to  the  beginning  of  the  descent  westerly,  there 
being  several  settlements  on  each  side  the  road  between  the 
ridges  of  the  mountain  in  that  distance.  From  this  point  we 
had  an  extensive  view  as  far  west  as  the  eye  could  [58]  reach, 
over  and  beyond  Chesnut  hills.  After ,  descending  two 
miles,  we  crossed  Indian  creek  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  I 
now  remarked  that  the  woods  were  much  thicker,  and  the 
trees  larger  and  taller,  than  the  same  species  to  the  east- 
ward. A  mile  from  Indian  creek,  Mr.  M'Kinley  pointed 
out  one  of  the  finest  farms  between  Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
burgh, owned  by  one  M'Mullen,  an  Irishman. 

At  10  A.  M.  we  changed  horses  and  our  sleigh  for  a  stage- 
wagon,  two  miles  from  M'Mullen's,  at  M'Ginnis's,  perhaps 
the  dirtiest  tavern  on  the  whole  road.  We  then  continued 
ten  miles  over  a  very  broken  hilly  country,  with  rich  valleys, 
crossing  a  high  ridge  called  Chesnut  hills,  from  whence 
the  western  country  is  spread  out  under  the  view,  like  an 
immense  forest,  appearing  fiat  from  the  height  we  were 
at,  though  it  is  in  fact,  as  we  found  it,  very  hilly.  We 
crossed  the  river  Sewickly,  a  fine  mill  stream,  by  a  bridge, 
ten  miles  from  M'Ginnis's,  and  eight  miles  further  we  ar- 
rived at  Greensburgh,  the  capital  of  Westmoreland  county, 
which  we  had  entered  at  the  eastern  foot  of  Laurel  hill. 

Greensburgh  is  a  compact,  well  built,  snug  little  town, 
of  about  a  hundred  houses,  with  a  handsome  court-house,  a 
Presbyterian  meeting-house,  and  a  market-house." 

On  entering  Habach's  tavern,  I  was  no  little  surprised  to 
see  a  fine  coal  fire,  and  I  was  informed  that  coal  is  the  prin- 
cipal fuel  of  the  country  fifty  or  sixty  miles  round  Pittsburgh. 
It  is  laid  down  at  the  doors  here  for  six  cents  a  bushel. 

After  supper  we  were  joined  by  a  Mr.  Holly,  a  doctor, 
and  another  gentleman,  residents  of  the  town,  according 

^*  For  an  account  of  Greensburgh,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series, 
p.  153,  note  16. —  Ed. 


74  ^arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

to  the  custom  of  the  country,  where  the  inhabitants  are  in 
habits  of  collecting  what  information  they  can  from  travel- 
lers. We  had  a  long  political  discussion,  originating  on  the 
subject  of  Col.  Burr's  projects;  and  amongst  the  six  present, 
there  [59]  were  no  two  who  agreed  in  sentiment.  Indeed,  in 
this  country  every  man  thinks  for  himself,  or  at  least  he 
imagines  he  does,  and  would  suppose  himself  insulted,  was 
another  to  attempt  openly  to  bias  his  opinion ;  but  notwith- 
standing this  supposed  liberty  of  sentiment,  superior  talents 
when  united  to  ambition,  seldom  fail  of  drawing  the  mass 
after  them.  The  conversation  of  this  evening  was  both 
amusing  and  instructive ;  some  of  the  party,  particularly  Mr. 
Holly,  a  New  England  man,  being  possessed  of  very  good 
information,  and  the  arguments  were  conducted  with  cool, 
dispassionate  reasoning. 

About  8  o'clock,  the  landlord,  who  was  a  German,  came 
into  the  room  and  offered  to  light  us  to  bed:  My  fellow 
travellers  complied,  but  I  told  him  I  should  sit  up  two  hours 
longer.  The  old  man  repeated  my  words,  *'two  hours," 
shrugged  up  his  shoulders  and  went  off,  while  I  literally 
kept  my  word,  amused  by  a  series  of  three  or  four  of  the 
last  Baltimore  Federal  Gazettes.  On  going  to  bed,  and 
finding  the  bed  clothes  very  light,  I  added  the  covering  of 
another  bed  in  the  room  to  mine,  which  I  left  so  in  the  morn- 
ing as  a  hint  to  the  house. 

At  five  o'clock  next  morning,  we  resumed  our  journey, 
and  found  very  little  snow  on  the  road,  though  there  was  so 
much  on  the  mountains  behind  us. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  is  similar  to  what  it  is  between 
the  Laurel  hills  and  Greensburgh.  Hills  running  in  ridges 
from  north  to  south,  heavily  wooded  with  white  oak,  walnut, 
sugar  tree  and  other  timber  natural  to  the  climate;  and  the 
valleys  narrow,  but  rich  and  all  settled. 

At  eight  miles  from  Greensburgh,  we  passed  on  our  right 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  y^ 

an  excellent  house  and  fine  farm  of  a  Col.  Irwin,  one  of  the 
assistant  judges;  and  three  miles  further  we  stopped  to 
change  horses  and  breakfast  at  [60]  Stewart's,  where  we 
were  charged  only  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  each. 

We  soon  after  entered  Allegheny  county.  The  weather 
was  cold  and  clear,  and  very  pleasant  for  the  season,  but 
the  country  afforded  no  variety,  being  still,  hill,  dale,  woods, 
and  scattering  farms.  At  nine  miles  from  Stewart's,  we 
descended  a  very  long  and  steep  hill,  by  a  shocking  road, 
crossed  Turtle  creek  at  the  bottom,  which  runs  to  the  south- 
ward to  join  the  river  Monongahela,  12  miles  above  its 
confluence  with  the  Allegheny;  we  then  ascended  another 
hill  by  an  equally  bad  and  dangerous  road.  It  is  astonish- 
ing that  in  so  fine  and  so  improving  a  country  more  atten- 
tion is  not  paid  to  the  roads.  A  turnpike  is  projected  from 
Pittsburgh  to  Harrisburgh,  which  I  am  clearly  of  opinion, 
might  be  kept  in  repair  by  a  reasonable  toll ;  —  and  then 
wagons  with  goods  may  travel  between  the  two  places  in  a 
third  less  time  than  they  do  now,  and  without  the  present 
great  risks  of  breaking  down,  and  the  mails  may  be  delivered 
at  the  post-offices  one  half  sooner. 

When  about  seven  miles  from  Pittsburgh,  we  had  a  pic- 
turesque view  of  the  Monongahela  on  the  left,  which  was 
soon  hid  again  by  the  intervening  hills;  and  when  within 
three  miles  of  that  town,  the  view  was  beautiful  over  the 
fine  low  cultivated  level,  or  bottom,  as  it  is  called,  which 
skirts  the  river  Allegheny  from  thence  to  Pittsburgh,  which 
is  seen  at  the  confluence  of  that  river  with  the  Monongahela; 
beyond  which,  the  high  and  steep  coal  hill  crowned  by  a 
farm  house  most  romantically  situated,  seems  to  impend 
directly  over  the  glass  manufactury,  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  opposite  the  town. 

The  last  two  miles  was  along  the  fine  level  above  men- 
tioned, passing  on  the  right,  between  the  road  and  the 


76  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Allegheny,  the  handsome  seat  of  Mr.  John  Woods,  a  re- 
spectable lawyer;"  and  immediately  after,  [61]  we  passed 
Fort  Fayette,  a  stockaded  post  on  the  right" — entered 
Pittsburgh,  and  put  up  at  Wm.  M'CuUough's  excellent  inn. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Unprepossessing  appearance  of  Pittsburgh  —  Causes  — 
Comfortable  situation  —  Abundance  of  coal  —  M'Cul- 
lough's  inn  —  Confinement  there  by  indisposition  —  Atten- 
tion of  some  of  the  inhabitants  —  Memoirs  of  an  uncom- 
mon character — Apollonian  society  —  Dramatick  societies 
—  Lawyers  —  Clergymen  —  State  of  society  injured  by 
politicks  and  other  causes  —  Physicians. 

The  appearance  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  winter,  is  by  no 
means  pleasing,  notwithstanding  its  fine  situation,  as,  none 
of  the  streets  being  paved  except  Market-street,"  they  are 
so  extremely  miry,  that  it  is  impossible  to  walk  them  without 
wading  over  the  ankle,  except  during  frosty  weather,  which 
rarely  continues  many  days  successively,  from  its  lying  so 
low,  and  being  so  well  sheltered,  by  the  surrounding  hills. 
This,  though  unpleasant  now,  is  in  reality  in  favour  of  th6 
place,  as  when  the  streets  are  all  paved,  that  inconvenience 
will  be  obviated,  and  the  advantage  of  shelter  from  the 
bleak  wintry  winds  will  still  remain,  without  its  being  fol- 
lowed by  an  exclusion  of  fresh  air  during  the  summer,  as  the 
rivers,  at  that  season  act  as  ventilators,  a  refreshing  breeze 
always  drawing  up  or  down  one  of  them,  increasing  [62] 

"  John  Woods  was  one  of  the  two  first  lawyers  in  Pittsburg,  being  admitted  to 
the  bar  from  Allegheny  County  in  1786.  He  represented  the  dty  in  Congress 
from  1815-17. —  Ed. 

*  For  Fort  Fayette,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  ill  of  this  series,  p.  32,  note 
12. —  Ed. 

^'  Since  the  above  was  written  the  greater  part  of  Wood  street  has  been  paved, 
Front  and  Third  streets  from  Market  to  Wood,  Diamond  alley  gravelled,  and 
Chancery  lane  paved  from  the  river  to  Second  street,  and  preparations  are  making 
to  pave  others  this  season,  1810. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  jy 

with  the  elevation  of  the  sun  until  noon,  and  then  gradually 
subsiding  into  a  calm  towards  sunset;  while  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  those  air  conductors  (the  rivers)  even  in  high 
situations,  an  oppressive  heat  not  rarified  by  the  most  gentle 
zephyr,  prevails  during  the  same  time. 

Another  cause  of  the  unprepossessing  appearance  of 
Pittsburgh,  proceeds  from  the  effect  of  one  of  the  must  useful 
conveniences  and  necessaries  of  life,  which  it  enjoys  in  a 
pre-eminent  degree;  namely,  fuel,  consisting  of  as  fine  coal 
as  any  in  the  world,  in  such  plenty,  so  easily  wrought,  and 
so  near  the  town,  that  it  is  delivered  in  wagons  drawn  by 
four  horses,  at  the  doors  of  the  inhabitants,  at  the  rate  of 
five  cents  per  bushel. 

A  load  of  forty  bushels  which  costs  only  two  dollars,  will 
keep  two  fires  in  a  house  a  month,  and  in  consequence, 
there  are  few^houses,  even  amongst  the  poorest  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, where  at  least  two  fires  are  not  used  —  one  for  cook- 
ing, and  another  for  the  family  to  sit  at.  This  great  con- 
sumption of  a  coal  abounding  in  sulphur,  and  its  smoke 
condensing  into  a  vast  quantity  of  lampblack,  gives  the 
outside  of  the  houses  a  dirty  and  disagreeable  appearance  — 
even  more  so  than  in  the  most  populous  towns  of  Great 
Britain,  where  a  proportionably  great  quantity  of  coal  is 
used;  which  must  be  caused  by  a  difference  of  quality,  which 
appears  in  the  grate  to  be  in  favour  of  the  coal  of  this  country. 

The  winter  being  too  far  advanced  for  boats  to  descend 
the  Ohio,  I  preferred  remaining  in  Pittsburgh,  until  I  should 
have  an  opportunity  of  continuing  my  journey  to  the  west- 
ward by  water,  to  going  on  immediately  by  land,  as  I  wished 
to  see  the  banks  of  that  celebrated  river,  as  far  as  it  lay  in  my 
route. 

I  therefore  became  a  weekly  boarder  and  lodger  at  M'Cul- 
lough's,  which  though  an  inn  much  frequented  by  travellers, 
I  found  to  be  as  quiet,  as  regular,  [63]  and  as  orderly,  as  any 


yS  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

private  lodging  houses  the  beds  equally  cleanly,  the  table 
more  plentiful,  and  the  charge  as  moderate.  As  M'Cul- 
lough  lays  himself  out  to  accommodate  travellers,  or  regular 
lodgers,  he  applies  himself  solely  to  that,  and  discourages 
every  thing  which  might  subject  his  house  to  the  noise, 
revelry,  and  confusion  of  a  tavern.  His  wife  an  amiable 
and  obliging  woman,  and  three  daughters,  fine  and  good 
girls  just  grown  up,  attend  to  the  business  of  the  house,  and 
the  accommodation  of  their  guests,  so  well,  that  a  man  must 
be  fastidious  to  a  fault,  who  would  not  be  perfectly  satisfied 
with  such  quarters. 

The  streets  being  extremely  dirty,  and  my  foot  still  paining 
me  much  from  the  consequence  of  its  being  blistered  on  my 
journey  between  Lancaster  and  Middleton,  I  confined  my- 
self to  the  house  for  several  days  after  my  arrival,  going  out 
only  once  during  that  time,  to  call  on  general  O'Hara*'  and 
Mr.  Abner  Barker  on  business.  Confinement  is  at  any 
time  unpleasant;  but  at  an  inn,  however  good  the  accom- 
modation, in  a  strange  place,  without  a  single  acquaintance, 
and  sufifering  continued  torture  from  an  inflammation  in  a 
limb,  the  pain  of  which  would  have  prevented  my  enjoying 
a  book,  even  had  there  been  a  library  within  my  reach,  was 
to  me  excessively  so. 

A  few  neighbouring  gentlemen  hearing  that  a  stranger 

^'  General  James  O'Hara  embarked  in  the  Indian  trade  near  Fort  Pitt  about 
1773.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  he  enlisted  in  the  ninth  Virginia  regi- 
ment, but  was  soon  employed  as  quartermaster,  also  serving  in  that  capacity  in 
the  Whiskey  Insurrection  (1793),  and  Wayne's  Campaign  against  the  Indians 
(1794).  His  business  talents  and  enterprise  were  employed  in  building  up  the  new 
town  of  Pittsburg,  where  at  its  inception  he  had  purchased  much  land.  In  1797, 
he  built  the  first  glass  manufactory  west  of  the  Alleghenies;  about  the  same  time 
he  made  arrangements  to  transport  salt  by  water  from  Onondaga,  New  York, 
greatly  cheapening  the  price  of  that  necessity.  In  1804,  O'Hara  was  made  director 
of  the  branch  of  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania  established  at  Pittsburg;  and  on  his 
death  (1819)  left  a  large  estate  to  his  heirs.  General  O'Hara  was  generous  and 
patriotic  as  well  as  enterprising.  He  was  a  friend  of  Washington,  and  served 
as  elector  when  the  latter  was  chosen  president  in  1788. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  79 

was  at  M'Cullough's  confined  by  indisposition,  did  me  the 
favour  of  calling  on  me,  and  the  attentions  of  doctor  Andrew 
Richardson,  Mr.  James  Mountain,  a  learned  practitioner  at 
the  bar,  and  Messrs.  Anthony  Beelen  and  Nicholas  Cun- 
ningham respectable  merchants,  prevented  my  being  able 
to  charge  Pittsburgh  with  an  absolute  want  of  hospitality. 
The  two  former  offered  me  the  use  of  their  judiciously 
selected  libraries,  when  I  should  become  sufficiently  conva- 
lescent to  go  out,  and  the  perusal  of  any  of  their  books  in 
the  interim,  and  the  first  supplied  [64]  me  with  the  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore  newspapers  as  they  arrived  by  post,  twice 
weekly. 

A  few  evenings  after  my  arrival,  the  daughters  of  my  host 
had  a  numerous  party  of  young  people  of  both  sexes  to 
spend  the  evening  and  practice  vocal  musick  under  the 
directions  of  a  Mr.  Tyler  who  had  taught  them.  They 
displayed  taste  and  harmony  enough  to  do  honour  to  their 
venerable  teacher,  and  I  was  tempted  to  join  the  sounds  of 
my  flute  to  the  sweet  treble  of  some  of  the  young  ladies. 
This  led  to  a  degree  of  confidence  to  me  from  Mr.  Tyler, 
who  on  retiring  to  bed  in  the  same  room,  imparted  to  me 
his  little  history,  which  though  not  replete  with  incident, 
was  singular  and  affecting,  exhibiting  generous  benevolent 
simplicity,  a  victim  to  vice  and  ingratitude.  He  was  an 
Englishman,  and  had  been  one  of  the  choristers  of  a  cathe- 
dral in  England  from  whence  he  had  emigrated  to  America, 
when  a  young  man.  He  had  exercised  his  talent  in  teaching 
sacred  musick,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  until 
he  had  acquired  a  sufficiency  to  purchase  a  farm  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Carlisle,  where  he  and  his  wife  settled. 
They  were  childless  —  an  infant  foundling  which  they 
chanced  to  see,  impressed  them  with  the  idea  of  supplying 
themselves  with  what  nature  had  denied  them.  They  took 
the  boy  home,  adopted  him  as  their  son,  and  spared  neither 


8o  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

pains  nor  expence  to  give  him  the  best  education  the  country 
afforded.  He  grew  up  a  most  promising  youth,  and  bid 
fair  to  reward  them  for  their  parental  cares,  by  smoothing 
their  decline  of  life,  with  a  return  of  those  attentions  which 
they  had  lavished  on  him  from  his  helpless  childhood.  The 
lad  was  a  good  accomptant,  and  was  placed  with  a  store- 
keeper in  Carlisle,  until  he  was  supposed  by  his  benefactors 
sufficiently  versed  in  business,  to  manage  for  himself. 
Tyler  then  expended  the  savings  of  many  years  industry  to 
furnish  for  him  a  respectable  country  store.  The  young 
[65]  man  commenced  business  with  the  fairest  prospects,  but 
he  had  unfortunately  contracted  habits  of  drinking  and 
gambling.  His  business  was  neglected,  one  loss  followed 
another,  but  he  had  the  art  of  still  imposing  on  the  unsus- 
pecting simplicity  of  his  blindly  partial  and  generous  patron, 
until  he  prevailed  on  him  to  be  his  security  for  larger  sums 
than  his  remaining  stock  of  goods  would  pay.  He  then 
absconded,  his  creditors  sued  the  old  man,  who  to  save 
himself  from  prison  was  obliged  to  dispose  of  his  farm,  and 
after  pa5dng  the  debts  of  the  ungrateful  prodigal,  with  the 
very  small  sum  which  remained  to  him,  he  and  his  wife  last 
year  at  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age  each,  crossed  the 
mountains,  at  an  inclement  season,  and  purchased  a  small 
tract  of  land  about  seven  miles  from  Pittsburgh,  on  which 
he  has  since  erected  a  cottage,  and  where  he  has  cleared  and 
cultivated  a  few  acres,  and  to  enable  himself  to  make  his 
payments,  he  has  taught  sacred  vocal  musick  in  this  town 
and  the  surrounding  country  these  two  successive  winters. 
His  enthusiasm  for  vocal  harmony,  and  his  innocent  unsus- 
pecting simplicity,  untainted  during  a  long  life,  by  worldly 
craft,  and  still  believing  the  mass  of  mankind  as  honest  and 
virtuous  as  himself,  notwithstanding  the  trying  proof  he 
had  experienced  of  its  baseness,  rendered  him  a  singular 
and  original  character;  I  say  original^  for  I  much  question, 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  8 1 

whether  any  person  into  whose  hands  these  sheets  may  fall, 
can  turn  his  eye  inwardly,  and  exclaim  with  a  conscience 
void  of  offence  and  selfishness,  I  too  am  a  general  philan- 
thropist, like  the  good  old  English  singing  master. 

Several  musical  amateurs  are  associated  here  under  the 
title  of  the  Apollonian  Society.  I  visited  it  by  invitation  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  F.  Amelung  the  acting  President,  and  was 
most  agreeably  surprised  to  hear  a  concert  of  instrumental 
musick  performed  by  about  a  dozen  gentlemen  of  the  town, 
with  a  degree  [66]  of  taste  and  execution,  which  I  could  not 
have  expected  in  so  remote  a  place.  I  was  particularly  as- 
tonished at  the  performance  on  the  violin  of  Mr.  Gabler, 
a  German,  employed  at  Gen.  O'Hara's  glass  house,  and  who 
is  one  of  the  society.  His  natural  talents  for  musick  were  so 
great,  that  he  could  not  bear  the  trammels  of  a  scientifick 
acquisition  of  it,  and  therefore  never  learned  a  note,  yet  he 
joins  a  correct  extempore  harmony,  to  the  compositions  of 
Hayden,  Pleyel,  Bach,  Mozart  and  the  other  celebrated 
composers,  particularly  in  their  lively  movements;  he  is 
not  quite  so  happy  in  his  accompaniments  of  Handel,  or  of 
grand  or  solemn  musick  generally.  His  execution  of  Waltz's 
is  in  a  sweet  and  tasty  style,  and  he  has  composed  by  ear 
and  committed  to  memory  several  pieces,  which  impress 
the  hearer  with  regret,  that  they  must  die  with  their  author. 
Indeed  he  now  (when  too  late)  regrets  himself,  that  he  had 
not  in  his  youth,  and  when  he  had  great  opportunities, 
added  science  to  natural  taste. 

The  Apollonian  society  is  principally  indebted  for  its 
formation  to  the  labours  of  Mr.  S.  H.  Dearborn,^"  a  New 
England  man,  who  came  here  about  a  year  ago,  to  exercise 
the  profession  of  a  portrait  painter,  and  being  a  very  versa- 
tile genius,  and  having  some  knowledge  of,  and  taste  for 

''  Son  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Dearborn,  of  Boston,  much  celebrated  for  his  mechani- 
cal and  inventive  genius. —  Cramer. 


82  EiUrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

musick,  he  soon  discovered  all  the  respectable  people  who 
were  harmoniously  inclined,  and  succeeded  in  associating 
them  into  a  regular  society,  which  meets  one  evening  every 
week,  and  consists  not  only  of  those  who  can  take  parts, 
but  also  of  many  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of 
the  town,  who  do  not  play,  but  who  become  members,  for 
the  sake  of  admission  for  themselves  and  families  to  the 
periodical  concerts. 

There  are  also  two  dramatick  societies  in  Pittsburgh,  [67] 
one  composed  of  the  students  of  law,  and  the  other  of  re- 
spectable mechanicks.  They  occasionally  unite  with  each 
other  in  order  to  cast  the  pieces  to  be  performed  with  more 
effect.  The  theatre  is  in  the  great  room  of  the  upper  story 
of  the  courthouse,  which  from  its  size,  and  having  several 
other  contiguous  apartments  which  serve  for  green  room, 
dressing  rooms,  &c.  is  very  well  adapted  to  that  purpose. 
It  is  neatly  fitted  up  under  the  direction  of  Mr,  Dearborn, 
whose  mechanical  genius  has  rendered  him  a  useful  asso- 
ciate of  the  disciples  of  Thespis;  whether  as  machinist, 
dresser,  scene  painter  and  shifter  or  actor;  particularly 
in  the  part  of  the  garrulous  Mrs.  Bulgruddery  in  John 
Bull,  which  he  performs  with  much  respectability.  Mr.  W. 
Wilkins'"  excels  in  genteel  comedy;  Mr.  Johnston  does 
justice  to  the  part  of  an  Irishman;  Mr.  Haslet  to  that  of  a 
Yorkshire  farmer  or  country  squire;  Mr.  Linton  in  low 
comedy  is  the  Edwin  of  Pittsburgh,  and  Mr.  Van  Baun  would 
be  an  ornament  to  any  established  theatre,  either  in  the 
sock  or  the  buskin,  he  being  equally  excellent  in  Octavian 

'"William  Wilkins,  at  this  time  but  a  young  lawyer,  afterwards  became  dis- 
tinguished in  American  political  circles.  He  served  as  state  and  federal  judge 
from  1820-28;  three  years  later  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate;  and  in 
1834,  was  sent  by  President  Jackson  as  minister  to  Russia.  Wilkins  was  in  Con- 
gress again  in  1842;  and  when  Upshire  and  Gilmer  were  killed  (1844),  President 
Tyler  appointed  him  Secretary  of  War. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  83 

as  in  Fribble.  The  female  characters  being  sustained  by 
young  men,  are  del&cient  of  that  grace  and  modest  vivacity, 
which  are  natural  to  the  fair  sex,  and  which  their  grosser 
lords  and  masters  vainly  attempt  to  copy.  On  the  whole 
however,  the  dramatick  societies,  exhibit  in  a  very  respec- 
table manner,  a  rational  entertainment  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Pittsburgh  about  once  monthly  through  the  winter. 
They  have  hitherto  confined  themselves  to  the  comick 
walk,  but  I  have  no  doubt,  that  if  they  appear  in  the  buskin, 
they  will  do  equal  credit  to  tragedy. 

Some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar  resident  here,  are  very 
respectable  in  the  profession  of  the  law.  Mr.  Ross,  for- 
merly a  senator,  and  set  up  in  unsuccessful  opposition  to 
Mr.  M'Kean,  for  governor  of  the  state,  is  an  orator  of  the 
first  abilities  —  his  oratory  [68]  being  clear,  intelligible  and 
impressive."  Mr.  Mountain,  to  deep  learning,  adds  careful 
investigation  of  the  cause  of  his  client,  and  is  apt  and  happy 
in  his  quotations.  Mr.  W.  Wilkins  is  by  nature  an  orator. 
His  person,  action,  and  gesture  are  favourable  to  him  —  his 
words  flow  at  will  in  a  style  of  manly  and  bold  oratory  which 
commands  attention. —  He  has  no  occasion  to  study  his 
periods,  they  form  themselves  —  he  enters  in  earnest  into 
the  cause  of  his  client,  and  rarely  fails  to  give  it  its  full 
weight — but  perhaps  he  sometimes  works  himself  up  into 
too  great  warmth  of  language,  which  may  be  occasioned  by 
the  glowing  impulse  of  youth  operating  on  a  fertile  fancy  — 

"  James  Ross  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  Pittsburg's  early  lawyers.  Born 
in  1761,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791,  and  three  years  later  chosen  to  fill 
out  Gallatin's  term  in  the  United  States  Senate,  wherein  by  re-election  he  served 
until  1803.  Ross  was  a  staunch  Federalist,  and  ran  three  times  unsuccessfully 
upon  that  ticket  for  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  twice  (1799  and  1802)  against 
McKean.  Although  a  Federalist,  he  had  suflSdently  imbibed  Western  views  to 
advocate,  while  a  senator,  the  forcible  seizure  of  New  Orleans  from  the  Spaniards. 
After  retiring  from  politics  (1803),  he  practiced  law  until  his  death  in  1847,  being 
considered  the  leader  of  the  Pittsburg  bar. —  Ed. 


84  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

he  apparently  not  exceeding  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Mr. 
Addison,^^  Mr.  Semple,  Mr.  Woods,  Mr.  Baldwin,  and 
Mr.  CoUins^^  are  spoken  of  as  very  able  practitioners,  but 
as  I  had  not  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  their  exertions  at  the 
bar,  I  cannot  take  it  upon  me  to  describe  their  talents,  even 
was  I  adequate  to  it. 

There  are  five  societies  of  Christians,  which  have  each 
an  established  minister  —  Mr.  Steele"  the  'pastor  of  one  of 
the  Presbyterian  societies,  possesses  all  that  liberality  of 
sentiment  and  Christian  charity  inculcated  by  the  divine 
founder  of  his  religion,  and  dignifies  the  pulpit  by  his  clear 
and  pleasing  exposition  of  the  scriptures.  Mr.  Taylor  the 
Episcopal  minister,  is  an  able  mathematician,  a  liberal 
philosopher,  and  a  man  of  unaffected  simplicity  of  manners. 
His  discourses  from  the  pulpit  are  good  moral  lectures,  well 
adapted  to  the  understanding  of  his  hearers.  He  is  an 
assistant  teacher  in  the  academy.  Of  Mr.  Boggs,'^  the 
minister  of  the  other  Presbyterian  society,  [69]  or  of  Mr. 
Black,  the  minister  of  a  large  society  of  a  sect  of  Presby- 
terians called  covenanters,  I  am  not  adequate  to  speak,  not 
having  yet  heard  either  officiate.  Mr.  Sheva,"  pastor  of 
a  congregation  of  German  Lutherans,  is  a  man  of  liberal 
morality,  and  a  lively  social  companion.    There  are  here 


'^  Since  dead.^  Cramer, 

^  Cxuning  has  here  given  a  summary  of  the  noted  members  of  the  Pittsburg  bar 
at  the  time  of  his  visit.  Steel  Semple  made  a  specialty  of  land  cases,  and  had  great 
influence  with  juries.  Henry  Baldwin  was  afterwards  distinguished  in  poUtics, 
serving  in  Congress  1817-23;  seven  years  later  he  was  appointed  to  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States,  wherein  he  served  until  his  death  in  1846.  Thomas 
Collins  was  an  able  and  successful  lawyer,  with  high  social  connections.  For  a 
sketch  of  Judge  Addison,  see  Harris's  Journal,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  363,  note 
46.—  Ed. 

"  Mr.  Steele  died  March  22,  1810. —  Cramer. 

"  Removed  to  near  Fredericksburgh,  Virginia.  His  place  has  been  filled  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hunt,  who  oflSciates  to  the  second  Presbyterian  congregation. —  Cramer. 

*•  Removed  to  St.  Louis,  Louisiana. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  85 

several  Roman  Catholicks,"  Methodists,*^  and  Anabaptists 
—  who  have  as  yet  no  established  place  of  worship,  but 
who  occasionally  meet  to  profit  by  the  exhortations  of  some 
of  their  spiritual  directors,  who  travel  this  way.  On  the 
whole,  the  religious  sects  appear  to  be  more  free  here  than 
in  most  places  I  have  visited,  from  those  illiberal  and  anti- 
christian  prejudices,  which  render  Christianity  the  scoff  of 
even  the  ignorant  Indians,  whom  we  term  savages. 

But  though  difference  of  religious  opinions  does  not  cause 
any  animosity  here,  politicks  have  reduced  society  to  a 
most  deplorable  state.  There  are  two  parties,  which  style 
themselves  Federal  republicans,  and  Democratick  repub- 
licans, but  who  speaking  of  each  other,  leave  out  the  word 
republican^  and  call  each  other  Federalists  and  Democrats. 
I  have  already  described  their  opinions,  which  are  argued 
with  more  warmth,  and  are  productive  of  more  rancour  and 
violence  in  Pittsburgh  than  perhaps  in  any  other  part  of 
America."  There  are  very  few  neutrals,  [70]  as  it  requires 
a  bold  independence  of  sentiment,  to  prevent  a  person  from 
attaching  himself  to  one  or  other  party,  and  besides,  to  a 
man  who  has  not  resources  for  the  emplo)mient  of  time 
within  himself,  the  alternative  of  not  being  of  one  or  other 


"  The  Catholicks  have  lately  erected  a  small  but  handsome  brick  church  of 
one  story  at  the  north  east  end  of  Liberty  street,  the  ground  for  which,  I  understand, 
was  gratuitously  presented  to  them  by  Gen.  O'Hara.  The  inside  work  of  the 
church  is  yet  in  an  unfinished  state. —  Cramer. 

^*  The  Methodists  are  now  engaged  in  collecting  a  voluntary  subscription  for 
either  the  building,  or  the  purchase  of  a  house  for  the  use  of  their  society. —  Cramer. 

"  Our  author  was  here  at  a  time  when  pohticks  ran  high  the  colouring  he  has 
given  the  rancour,  in  consequence,  among  the  inhabitants,  may  be  a  little  too  deep. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  party  pohticks,  or  at  least,  poUtical  rancour,  has  subsided,  and 
the  citizens  generally,  intermingle  in  social  societies,  and  interchange  the  various 
offices  of  friendship  and  of  trade  without  interruption,  however  they  may  differ  in 
poUtical  sentiment,  or  be  opposed  to  each  other  in  the  election  of  the  various  can- 
didates to  pubUck  office.  Conceiving,  perhaps,  that  a  moderate  difference  of 
political  opinion,  is  a  natural  consequence  of  our  poUtical  institutions,  and  a  requisite 
to  their  existence  in  the  purity  in  which  they  were  at  first  established. —  Cramer. 


86  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

party  is  insupportable,  as  he  is  shunned  equally  by  both, 
and  in  this  populous  town  lives  with  respect  to  society,  as 
though  he  were  in  a  desert.  This  may  be  one  cause  that 
Pittsburgh  is  not  celebrated  for  its  hospitality,  another, 
(which  is  equally  applicable  to  most  new  settled  towns,) 
is  that  it  is  inhabited  by  people  who  have  fixed  here  for  the 
express  purpose  of  making  money.  This  employs  the 
whole  of  their  time  and  attention,  when  they  are  not  oc- 
cupied by  politicks,  and  leaves  them  no  leisure  to  devote 
to  the  duties  of  hospitality.  Another  cause,  which  one 
would  scarcely  suspect,  is  pride.  Those  who  from  the  ad- 
ventitious circumstance  of  having  settled  here  at  an  early 
period,  and  purchased,  or  became  possessed  of  landed 
property,  when  from  its  very  low  value,  it  was  obtained  in 
the  most  easy  manner,  for  a  mere  trifle,  now  find  themselves 
rich  suddenly,  from  its  rapid  increase  in  value.  Those  who 
came  after  them,  had  not  the  same  opportunities,  and  of 
course  were  not  so  fortunate.  Wealth  acquired  suddenly, 
generally  operates  on  the  ignorant,  to  make  them  wish  to 
seem  as  if  they  had  always  been  in  the  same  situation;  and 
in  affecting  the  manners  and  appearance  of  the  great,  they 
always  overact  their  part,  and  assume  airs  of  superiority 
[71]  even  over  the  really  well  bom  and  well  bred  part  of  the 
community,  who  have  been  reduced  from  a  more  affluent 
situation,  by  misfortune,  or  who  have  not  been  so  fortunate 
as  themselves  in  acquiring  what  stands  the  possessor  in  lieu 
of  descent,  and  all  the  virtues  and  accomplishments.  This 
accounts  for  the  pride  which  generaUy  pervades  the  fortu- 
nate first  settlers,  but  it  is  carried  to  such  extravagant  ex- 
cess, that  I  have  been  credibly  informed  that  some  of  the 
females  of  this  class  have  styled  themselves  and  their  families 
the  Well  born,  to  distinguish  them  from  those  not  quite  so 
wealthy,  forgetting  that  some  among  them  could  not  tell 
who  had  been  their  ancestors  in  the  second  generation. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  87 

This  is  all  matter  of  ridicule  and  amusement  to  a  person 
possessed  of  the  least  philosophy.  There  is  also  a  very 
numerous  class,  which  assumes  a  certain  air  of  superiority 
throughout  this  whole  country  —  I  mean  the  lawyers. 
They  (even  their  students  and  pupils)  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  title  or  epithet  of  esquire,  which  the  uninformed  mass  of 
the  people  allow  them;  and  as,  by  intrigue,  they  generally 
fill  all  the  respectable  offices  in  the  government  as  well  as  the 
legislature,  they  assume  to  themselves  a  consequence  to 
which  they  are  in  no  other  way  entitled. 

The  profession  of  physick  is  also  on  a  very  respectable  foot- 
ing in  this  town.  There  being  four  established  physicians. 
—  Doctors  Bedford,  Richardson,"  Stevenson,  and  Mowry," 
all  of  considerable  practice,  experience,  and  reputation.*' 

I  shall  defer  an  account  of  the  situation,  history  and 
present  state  of  Pittsburgh,  until  I  have  finished  [72]  my 
tour  to  the  westward,  when  I  shall  have  obtained  more 
information  on  so  important  a  subject. 

CHAPTER  IX 

Departure  from  Pittsburgh  —  The  Allegheny,  Monongahela, 
and  Ohio  rivers  —  Brunot's  island  —  unfortunate  death 
of  two  gentlemen  —  Baldwin's  mill  —  Neville's  island  — 
Middletown  —  Logstown  —  Beaver  creek  —  Beaver  town 
—  Fort  M'Intosh. 

On  the  i8th  July,  1807,  accompanied  by  my  intelligent 
and  valuable  friend  A ,  I  departed  from  Pittsburgh,  in 

*"  Died,  August  1809. —  Cramer. 

**  Of  these  early  Pittsburg  physicians,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bedford  came  out  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  British  army,  and  located  here  in  1765;  his  colleague,  Dr.  Stevenson, 
arrived  about  the  same  time  and  later  served  as  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Dr. 
Mowry  entered  the  office  of  Bedford  as  an  apprentice  (1786),  attended  lectures 
under  Dr.  Rush  at  Philadelphia,  and  attained  high  rank  in  his  profession. —  Ed. 

^  There  are  three  others  estabUshed  here  lately,  a  German,  a  French,  and  an 
English  physician,  the  latter  of  whom  is  of  the  Friends*  society,  of  the  name  of 
Pennington,  considerably  advanced  in  years.  He  came  to  this  place  in  the  fall  of 
1809,  and  is  said  to  be  skilful. —  Cramer. 


88  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

a  batteau,  or  flat  bottomed  skiff,  twenty  feet  long,  very 
light,  and  the  stem  sheets  roofed  with  very  thin  boards,  high 
enough  to  sit  under  with  ease,  and  long  enough  to  shelter 
us  when  extended  on  the  benches  for  repose,  should  we  be 
benighted  occasionally  on  the  river,  with  a  side  curtain  of 
tow  cloth  as  a  screen  from  either  the  sun  or  the  night  air. 
We  had  a  pair  of  short  oars,  or  rather  long  paddles,  for  one 
person  to  work  both,  and  a  broad  paddle  to  steer  with; 
and  a  mast,  and  a  lug  or  square  sail  to  set  when  the  wind 
should  favour  us;  we  had  a  good  stock  of  cold  provisions 
and  liquors.  The  river  being  neither  flooded,  nor  very  low, 
was  just  in  that  state,  to  promise  a  pleasant  passage  to  its 
navigators.  The  current  running  between  two  and  three 
miles  an  hour,  allowed  time  to  examine  every  thing  worthy 
of  curiosity,  and  the  water  was  sufficiently  high  to  prevent 
delays  through  grounding  on  any  of  the  numerous  flats, 
which  impede  the  navigation  of  the  first  two  hundred  miles, 
during  the  principal  part  of  the  summer  and  fall,  and  yet 
not  so  high  as  to  prevent  our  being  able  to  see  and  remark 
all  the  shoals  or  rocks  of  any  consequence,  which  gave  us  an 
opportunity  [73]  of  proving  Mr.  Cramer's  Navigator  which 
we  had  with  us,  of  correcting  it  in  a  few  places,  and  of 
adding  to  it  a  sketch  of  the  river,  in  its  very  winding  course, 
between  Pittsburgh  and  Limestone  or  Maysville,  in  Ken- 
tucky." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  embarking  on  the  Mononga- 
hela  we  passed  its  confluence  with  the  Allegheny,  and  entered 
the  Ohio  formed  by  the  other  two. 

The  Allegheny  rises  between  two  and  three  hundred 
miles  following  its  different  meanders,  N.  E.  of  Pittsburgh. 

**  The  Navigator  or  Trader's  useful  Guide  to  Navigating  the  Monongahela, 
Allegheny,  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  .  .  .  was  published  by  Zadok  Cramer  at 
Pittsburg  —  the  same  house  that  produced  Cuming's  Western  Tour.  Cuming 
doubtless  had  the  fifth  edition,  issued  in  1806.  The  work  was  useful  and  popular, 
and  ran  through  twelve  editions. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  89 

Its  current  runs  about  three  miles  an  hour  except  in  floods, 
when  it  is  sometimes  impelled  at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven. 
Its  banks  were  uninhabited  except  by  the  aborigines,  and  a 
line  of  distant  posts  fortified  by  the  French,  to  preserve  the 
communication  by  this  route  between  Canada  and  Louisiana, 
previous  to  the  conquest  of  the  former  country  by  the  British 
in  1759;  also  to  prevent  the  extension  of  the  Anglo  American 
settlements  to  the  westward  of  this  river;  and  to  command 
the  friendship  and  trade  of  the  Indians;  and  to  prevent  as 
much  as  possible  the  English  from  participating  with  them 
in  those  advantages.  Within  the  last  twenty  years,  the 
Indians  disliking  the  extension  of  the  American  settlements 
into  their  neighbourhood,  have  abandoned  this  whole  tract 
of  country,  and  have  retired  to  Sandusky,  about  three  hun- 
dred miles  further  west,  with  the  exception  of  a  tribe  under 
a  celebrated  chief  called  the  Complanter,  which  has  a  town 
and  settlement  near  the  Allegheny  about  120  miles  from 
Pittsburgh,"  and  which  is  gradually  falling  into  an  agricul- 
tural life." 

^  The  former  villages  of  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares  in  the  vicinity  of  Pitts- 
burg were  removed  at  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Muskingum. 

Complanter,  the  chief  of  a  large  band  of  Senecas,  was  for  many  years  a  much 
dreaded  hostile.  He  is  known  to  have  been  with  the  French  at  Braddock's  defeat; 
later,  influenced  by  the  British  agents,  he  took  part  in  the  massacre  at  Wyoming 
and  in  many  border  raids.  Brodhead  led  out  an  expedition  in  1779,  which  burned 
the  towns  of  this  chieftain;  and  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  becoming  impressed 
with  the  growing  power  of  the  Americans,  the  wily  warrior  professed  peace,  assisted 
in  securing  the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix  (1784)  and  Fort  Harmar  (1789),  and  had 
an  interview  with  Washington  in  1790.  His  professions  secured  him  a  large  reser- 
vation in  the  present  county  of  Warren,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  lived  quietly  until 
his  death  in  1836. —  Ed. 

**  In  1798,  the  Quakers  of  Philadelphia  sent  out  a  committee  of  three  or  five, 
men  and  women,  among  the  Complanters  Indians,  with  implements  of  husbandry, 
to  instruct  the  poor  natives  in  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  comfortable  living.  In 
these,  with  much  good  example,  industry,  and  perseverance,  they  have  succeeded 
wonderfully  in  bringing  their  red  brethren  to  a  considerable  advanced  stat?  of 
civilization,  to  a  knowledge  of  agriculture,  the  mechanick  arts,  and  a  practice  of 
the  social  virtues.     I  had  the  pleasure  of  conversing  with  Joel  Swain,  one  of  the 


90  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[74]  The  Europe-American  settlements  (as  I  call  them 
from  theu"  consisting  principally  of  emigrants  from  Britain, 
Ireland,  and  Germany,  particularly  the  two  latter)  now 
extend  not  only  to  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny,  but  crossing 

members  of  the  committee  not  long  since,  who  observed,  that  the  farms  of  the  natives 
extended  several  miles  on  both  banks  of  the  Allegheny  river,  well  stocked  with 
cattle,  horses,  and  hogs.  That  one  or  two  of  the  Indians  had  already  learnt  how 
to  make  their  own  plough-irons,  axes,  hoes,  &c.  while  others  were  learning  to  make 
tubs  and  buckets,  and  that  he  expected  to  learn  an  ingenuous  boy  to  make  spinning 
wheels  the  ensuing  year,  for  which  he  was  then  hunting  irons.  That  a  tanyard 
was  about  to  be  sunk  for  the  purpose  of  learning  them  the  art  of  tanning.  That 
the  Indian  women  had  spun  and  wove  about  seventy  yards  of  flaxen  linen  that  year, 
1808,  and  was  able  to  knit  their  own  stockings.  That  they,  the  committee,  had  got 
both  men  and  women  to  quit  the  habit  of  drinking  whiskey,  or  any  other  kind  of 
ardent  spirits,  either  at  home  or  abroad  — This  circimistance  has  been  frequently 
witnessed  among  those  who  came  down  to  Pittsburgh  with  skins,  trading,  and  who 
uniformly  refuse  whiskey  when  offered  to  them  by  those  to  whom  they  sell  their 
skins,  shaking  their  heads,  saying,  too  scos,  too  scos,  meaning,  not  good,  repeating 
in  broken  English, ' '  may  be  scos,  good,  for  white  man,  but  too  scos,  bad,  for  Indian.' ' 

The  Quakers  of  Baltimore,  under  the  same  Christian,  and  highly  laudable 
spirit,  sent  out  in  1805,  a  deputation  among  the  Shawaneese,  Delawares,  and 
Wyandots,  and  such  other  tribes  as  they  could  find  it  practicable  to  visit,  to  see 
what  might  be  wanting  to  forward  the  interests  and  happiness  of  the  natives,  to 
some  of  whose  tribes  they  had  forwarded  a  few  articles  of  farming  utensils  in  1798, 
particularly  to  those  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Tuskarowas  river;  since  which, 
ploughs,  hoes,  axes,  &c.  have  been  forwarded  to  Fort  Wayne  as  presents  to  the 
Indians  on  the  Wabash,  where  considerable  clearings  and  improvements  have  been 
made  under  the  particular  direction  of  Philip  Dennis,  agent  of  the  Friends* 
society. 

The  Western  Missionary  society  are  also  laudably  engaged  in  this  Christian 
like  work,  and  we  hope  and  flatter  ourselves,  that  much  good  will  be  done,  and  the 
poor  natives  be  advanced  to  a  state  of  rational  life.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Badger 
resides  on  the  Sandusky,  where  no  doubt  his  indefatigable  industry  will  be  turned 
to  the  best  advantage  for  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  in  that  quarter.  He  has  one 
farm  already  stocked  with  cattle,  &c.  a  tolerable  crop  was  raised  last  year  —  and  a 
school  is  kept  to  teach  the  children  the  English  language.  Divine  service  is  also 
held  among  them  frequently,  where  men,  women,  and  children  attend,  to  receive 
the  instruction  of  their  worthy  pastor.  Mr.  Badger  was  among  us  not  long  ago,  and 
he  gives  a  flattering  account  of  the  aptness  of  the  Indian  children,  and  their  will- 
ingness and  desire  for  learning,  and  states  that  they  do  not  want  for  capacity. — 
This  subject  opens  a  wide  field  for  the  humane  and  philosophick  citizen,  and  we 
hope  the  minds  of  many  will  be  drawn  to  pay  it  that  attention  it  so  richly 
merits. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  9 1 

that  river,  the  country  has  become  [75]  populous,  and  many 
thriving  towns  have  been  erected  throughout  the  whole 
country  south  of  lake  Erie,  not  only  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in 
the  adjoining  new  state  of  Ohio,  which  latter  has  been 
settled  in  that  tract,  by  emigrants  from  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut,*" to  whom  Pittsburgh  is  indebted  for  a  good  supply 
of  cheese*'  not  inferior  to  English. 

The  navigation  of  the  Allegheny  is  easy  for  boats  called 
keels  from  fifty  to  seventy  feet  long,  sharp  at  both  ends, 
drawing  little  water,  carrjdng  a  good  burthen,  and  calcu- 
lated to  be  set  against  the  stream,  so  as  to  surmount  it  from 
eight  to  twenty  miles  a  day  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of 
the  current  operating  against  them.  The  water  of  this 
river  is  uncommonly  clear,  occasioned  by  its  gravelly  bottom 
and  the  rapidity  of  its  current;  and  the  fish  are  harder,  firmer, 
and  more  delicious,  than  those  caught  in  the  Monongahela, 
which  rising  in  the  Laurel  mountain  in  Virginia,  pursues 
a  northern  course  about  two  hundred  miles,  (the  last  half 
of  which  is  through  a  rich  and  populous  country)  until  it 
unites  with  the  Allegheny  at  Pittsburgh.  Flowing  generally 
through  a  more  level  country  than  the  Allegheny,  its  current 
[76]  is  much  more  placid,  but  its  waters  are  always  muddy, 
from  which  circumstance  it  derives  its  name,  which  in  the 
Indian  dialect  signifies  muddy  jrom  the  mouldering  in  of 
banks.    Both  it  and  the  Alleghany  abound  in  fish,  of  which 


*  This  refers  to  the  Western  Reserve,  often  called  New  Connecticut.  By  the 
terms  of  her  charter,  Connecticut  claimed  the  land  west  of  her  boundaries  to  the 
Mississippi;  upon  her  cession  of  this  claim  to  Congress  (1786),  she  reserved  a 
tract  of  3,250,000  acres  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  in  which  settlement  was  begun 
(1796)  at  Cleveland.  In  1800  this  reserve  was  surrendered  to  the  United  States, 
and  finally  incorporated  in  the  state  of  Ohio. —  Ed. 

"  It  is  not  an  imcommon  thing  for  some  of  our  New  Connecticut  farmers  to 
make  from  two  to  three  tons  of  good  cheese  in  one  season,  for  which  they  generally 
get  at  our  market  twelve  cents  per  pound. —  Cramer. 


92  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  white  salmon,  the  perch,  the  pike  and  the  catfish  are  most 
esteemed ;  there  are  however  several  other  species." 

The  Ohio  into  which  we  had  now  entered,  takes  its  name 
from  its  signifying  bloody  in  the  Indian  tongue,  which  is 
only  a  modern  appellation  bestowed  on  it  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  last  century  by  the  five  nations,  after  a  successful 
war,  in  which  they  succeeded  in  subjugating  some  other 
tribes  on  its  banks."  It  was  called  by  the  French  La  belle 
Riviere,  which  was  a  very  appropriate  epithet,  as  perhaps 
throughout  its  long  course  it  is  not  exceeded  in  beauty  by  any 
other  river.  It  was  always  known  before  as  a  continuation 
of  the  Allegheny,  though  it  more  resembles  the  Mononga- 
hela,  both  in  the  muddiness  of  its  waters,  and  its  size:  the 
latter  being  about  five  hundred  yards  wide,  whereas  the 
former  is  only  about  four  hundred  yards  in  breadth  opposite 
Pittsburgh. 

Leaving  the  glass  house  on  the  left,  we  passed  on  the 
same  hand  Saw-mill  run,  a  mill  stream  with  a  long  wooden 
bridge  crossing  it  to  Elliot's  mills,  the  bridge  forming  a 
handsome  object  in  the  view.  Elliot  has  here  a  delightful 
spring,  bubbling  its  cool  pelucid  water  from  the  side  of  the 
rocky  bason  which  receives  it,  from  which  it  is  conveyed  by 
a  pipe  through  his  spring-house,  the  roof  of  which  joins  the 
shed  which  covers  the  spring. 

We  passed  Robinson's  point  on  the  right  with  a  fine 
level,  or  bottom,  as  I  shall  in  future  according  to  [77]  the 
language  of  the  country  call  all  the  flats  between  the  hills 
and  the  banks  of  the  river.    This  bottom  well  settled  and 


**  Such  as  the  sucker,  sturgeon,  buffaloe,  missouri,  eel,  herring,  and  sometimes 
the  flat  soft  shelled  turtle  are  caught  —  The  branches  of  the  Allegheny,  especially 
French  creek,  abound  in  fine  trout. —  Cramer. 

*•  Cuming  is  following  the  Navigator  in  his  signification  of  the  term  ' '  Ohio,' ' 
which  in  its  turn  quotes  from  Brackemidge's  Gazette  Publications  (Carlisle,  1806). 
Both  are  incorrect,  as  philologists  now  agree  that  the  word  Ohio  signifies  * '  beauti- 
ful stream.' ' —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  93 

cultivated,  extends  to  about  four  miles  below  Pittsburgh, 
having  Brunot's  island  opposite  its  lower  extremity.  This 
island  contains  near  three  hundred  acres  of  a  most  luxuriant 
soil,  about  half  of  which  has  been  cleared  by  Dr.  Brunot, 
a  native  of  France,  who  adds  hospitality  and  sociality  to 
the  abundance  which  he  derives  from  his  well  cultivated 
farm."  He  has  judiciously  left  the  timber  standing  on  the 
end  of  the  island  nearest  Pittsburgh,  through  which,  and  a 
beautiful  locust  grove  of  about  twelve  acres,  an  avenue  from 
his  upper  landing  is  led  with  taste  and  judgement  about  half 
a  mile  to  his  house,  which  is  a  good  two  story  cottage,  with 
large  bams,  and  other  appropriate  offices  near  it,  and  an 
excellent  garden  and  nursery.  He  has  fenced  the  farm 
in  such  a  way,  as  to  leave  a  delightful  promenade  all  round 
it,  between  the  fences,  and  the  margin  of  the  river,  which  he 
has  purposely  left  fringed  with  the  native  wood  about  sixty 
yards  wide,  except  where  occasional  openings  are  made 
either  for  landings,  or  views,  the  latter  of  which  are  very 
fine,  particularly  that  of  M'Kee's  romantick  rocks  opposite, 
impending  over  the  narrow  rapid  which  separates  them  from 
the  island.  M'Kee's  fine  farm  between  the  rocks  and  the 
mouth  of  Chartier  creek,  and  the  creek  itself,  which  mean- 
ders through  a  great  part  of  the  rich  and  plentiful  county 
of  Washington,  affording  also  fine  subjects  for  the  landscape 
painter." 

*°Dr.  Felix  Brunot  was  a  foster  brother  of  Lafayette.  Embarking  in  the 
hitter's  enterprise  to  aid  the  American  colonists,  he  served  eflBciently  in  the  Revo- 
lution, especially  at  the  battle  of  Brand)rwine.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled 
at  Annapolis,  Maryland;  but  in  1797  removed  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  developed  the 
island  estate  which  Cuming  describes.  Dr.  Brunot  died  in  1838;  his  descendants 
have  been  equally  public-spirited  —  his  grandson,  Felix  Brunot,  being  an  eminent 
Pittsburg  philanthropist. —  Ed. 

"  The  original  owner  of  the  farm  from  which  McKee's  Rocks  took  their  name 
was  the  notorious  Tory  Indian  agent,  Alexander  McKee.  This  tract  he  bought  of 
Bouquet  in  1764,  and  Uved  upon  his  property  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution. 
McKee  had  (1772)  been  appointed  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  deputy  for  Indian 


94  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

On  entering  the  channel  to  the  right  of  Brunot's  island,  I 
could  not  avoid  a  sensation  of  melancholy,  from  its  remind- 
ing me  of  the  death  of  my  valued  friend  George  Cochran, 
esq.  of  Natchez,  who  about  three  years  ago  was  drowned  here 
together  with  a  Mr.  M'Farlane  of  Elizabethtown,  by  the 
skiff,  in  which  they  were  going  from  the  shore  to  a  brig  be- 
longing to  the  latter,  being  carried  by  the  current  [78]  against 
the  brig's  cable,  and  overset.  In  his  death,  his  friends  had 
cause  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  warm  hearted,  benevolent, 
generous,  and  properly  conducted  man  in  every  sense  of  the 
word,  and  the  world  was  deprived  of  one  of  those  characters, 
which  is  occasionally  but  rarely  allowed  it,  to  prevent  that 
general  obloquy  to  which  it  would  otherwise  be  subjected 
from  the  natural  depravity  of  mankind. 

I  was  not  acquainted  with  Mr.  M'Farlane,  but  from  the 
manner  in  which  I  have  heard  him  spoken  of  by  those  who 
were,  he  merited  a  longer  enjoyment  of  this  probationary 
life.  They  were  found  two  days  after,  a  few  miles  below, 
brought  to  Pittsburgh,  and  interred  in  two  adjoining  graves, 
in  the  burying  ground  of  the  new  Presbyterian  meeting-house. 


affairs,  and  was  listed  by  Lord  Dunmore  (1775)  as  one  whose  loyalty  to  the  British 
could  be  relied  upon.  He  became,  therefore,  an  object  of  suspicion  to  his  neigh- 
bors, and  General  Hand,  commandant  at  Fort  Pitt,  placed  him  upon  parole.  The 
night  of  March  28,  1778,  McKee  with  Matthew  Elliot  and  Simon  Girty,  broke  his 
parole  and  fled  to  the  British  at  Detroit.  There  he  was  rewarded  with  a  captaincy, 
and  employed  in  leading  Indian  raiding  parties  against  the  American  settlements. 
After  Hamilton's  capture  (1778)  he  was  made  Indian  agent  for  the  Western  de- 
partment, and  throughout  the  Revolution,  and  the  entire  period  of  Indian  wars, 
his  influence  with  the  savages  was  exerted  to  maintain  their  enmity  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. After  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  (1794),  Wa)Tie  burned  the  store-house 
and  goods  of  McKee  at  the  Maumee  Rapids,  the  renegade  having  himself  retired 
to  Detroit,  where  he  received  a  letter  of  commendation  from  the  governor-general 
of  Canada,  and  promotion  in  the  British  service.  When  the  latter  evacuated 
Detroit  (1796),  McKee  retired  to  Sandwich,  where  he  continued  his  official  duties 
until  his  death  (January  14,  1799).  His  services  had  been  rewarded  by  large 
grants  of  land  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  Detroit  River,  upon  which  his  descend- 
ants established  themselves.  His  Pittsburg  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  a 
brother,  whose  descendants  were  living  thereon  in  1847. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming*  s  Tour  to  the  West  95 

Passing  his  garden,  we  gave  and  received  an  adieu  from 
Dr.  Brunot,  and  the  recollection  of  a  social  and  agreeable 
day,  which  I  enjoyed  with  a  party  at  his  house  on  the  4th 
of  this  month,  when  he  had  a  few  friends  to  commemorate 
that  anniversary  of  a  new  era  in  the  annals  of  history,  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  aided  to 
dispel  those  gloomy,  selfish  ideas,  which  we  who  remain  be- 
hind can  seldom  avoid  indulging,  when  we  think  on  our 
being  for  ever  deprived  of  society  which  was  dear  to  us  — 
even  though  we  have  every  reason  to  be  certain  that  they 
were  prepared  for  whatever  fate  may  await  them  in  futurity, 
and  though  we  know  that  longer  continuance  here,  might 
have  subjected  the  subject  of  our  regret  to  some  of  those 
casualties  in  the  affairs  of  men,  which  might  have  embittered 
their  future  life. 

The  course  of  the  river  is  generally  about  N.  N.  W.  from 
Pittsburgh  to  Beaver,  about  twenty-eight  miles.  We  con- 
tinued to  descend  it,  our  attention  occupied  by  frequent 
changes  of  prospect,  caused  by  its  winding  course.  From 
the  point  below  Brunot's  island,  is  a  fine  vista  of  the  river 
with  hills  on  the  right  and  [79]  a  bottom  on  the  left;  a  very 
high  hill  in  front  cultivated  on  the  top,  Baldwin's  mill  on 
the  right  three  miles  distant,  reflected  by  the  water  to  double 
its  size;  the  well  frequented  road  to  Beaver  on  the  same 
hand,  and  farms  and  farm  houses  in  view  of  each  other; 
the  scenery  enlivened  by  multitudes  of  fish  sporting  near 
the  surface  of  the  glassy  element.  Baldwin's  mill-house  is 
well  built  of  stone  over  a  dam  in  the  river,  which  conveys 
the  water  to  the  wheel,  from  whence  it  runs  out  under  the 
arch  which  supports  the  house. 

We  had  passed  a  small  island  of  about  three  acres,  called 
Cow  island,  separated  from  Neville's  or  Long  island  by  a 
channel  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  This  latter  takes 
its  name  of  Long  from  its  extending  six  miles  down  the 


96  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

river  from  opposite  Baldwin's  mill,  it  is  narrow,  but  its 
soil  being  of  the  first  quality,  it  might  be  divided  into  several 
good  farms;  there  is  however  but  one  on  it  as  yet,  cultivated 
for  the  proprietor,  major  Craig  of  Pittsburgh,  who  has  on 
the  middle  of  the  island  a  large  but  very  plain  wooden 
farm  house  of  two  stories,  and  about  sixty  feet  long." 

We  here  overtook  a  covered  flat,  with  two  families  of 
the  name  of  Frazey,  migrating  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Elizabethtown  in  New  Jersey,  to  Cincinnatti  in  Ohio.  They 
had  embarked  at  Redstone  on  the  Monongahela.'*  The 
father  of  one  of  the  families  was  dangerously  ill  with  a 
nervous  fever  and  deranged  in  his  intellects. 

Hog  island  on  the  left  just  below  Neville's  island,  is 
very  small,  and  immediately  below  it  also  on  the  left  we 
passed  Middletown,  lately  laid  out,  containing  ten  houses 
including  bams,  and  opposite  to  it,  a  Mr.  White's  finely 
situated  house. 

From  a  point  two  miles  below  Middletown,  the  river 
opening  gradually  into  a  long  reach,  has  a  fine  effect  to 

'^  Major  Isaac  Craig  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  citizens  of 
Pittsburg.  Coming  from  Ireland  to  America  in  1766,  he  settled  at  Philadelphia 
as  a  carpenter,  and  being  commissioned  first  lieutenant  of  marines  (1775)  took 
part  in  the  expedition  to  the  West  Indies.  His  command  was  later  transferred  to 
the  infantry  and  then  to  the  artillery  branch  of  the  service,  wherein  Craig  was 
wounded  at  Brand)rwine,  and  performed  gallant  services  in  Sulhvan's  Indian  Cam- 
paign. Having  taken  command  of  Fort  Pitt  in  1780,  he  was  ordered  the  next  year 
to  reinforce  George  Rogers  Clark  with  stores  and  artillery  for  an  expedition  to 
Detroit.  This  proving  abortive,  Craig  continued  at  Pittsburg,  strengthening  its 
defenses,  and  securing  it  against  attack.  In  1783,  he  bought  the  first  land  sold 
within  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  and  shortly  formed  a  partnership  for  general  business 
with  Colonel  Bayard,  a  Revolutionary  officer.  During  the  Indian  campaigns 
Craig  acted  as  military  storekeeper,  forwarding  provisions  to  Wayne,  and  erecting 
defensive  works  at  Pittsburg  (Fort  Fayette),  WheeUng,  and  Presqu'  Isle;  but  as 
a  noted  Federalist  he  was  removed  (1802)  by  Jefferson  from  official  position. 
Major  Craig  also  aided  in  preparations  for  the  War  of  1812-15,  but  at  its  close 
retired  to  Neville's  Island  (his  wife's  property)  and  resided  thereon  until  his  death 
in  1826. —  Ed. 

"  For  a  sketch  of  Redstone,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  158, 
note  23. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  97 

the  eye.  A  little  below  the  point,  a  charmingly  situated 
farm  on  the  right  exciting  our  inquiry,  [80]  we  were  informed 
that  it  was  squire  Ways.  The  squire  however,  was  badly 
lodged,  if  he  had  no  better  house  than  the  small  log  hovel 
we  saw  on  the  bank.  Deadman's  island  a  little  below  is 
small,  covered  with  aquatick  shrubs  and  plants,  and  so  low, 
that  it  must  always  be  inundated  in  moderate  risings  of  the 
river,  which  is  not  here  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
wide,  and  in  general  not  exceeding  two  hundred.  The  banks 
on  each  side  abound  with  partridges  whose  responsive  calls 
are  continually  heard,  interrupted  by  the  buzz  of  multitudes 
of  large  horse  flies,  which  probably  attracted  by  the  odour 
of  our  provisions,  seemed  much  more  pleased  with  our  boat 
than  we  were  with  them. 

Eight  miles  below  Middletown,  we  passed  Logstown  on 
the  left:  This  is  a  scattering  hamlet,  of  four  or  five  log  cabins, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  which,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  a  considerable  tribe  of  Indians  resided,  until  after  the 
reduction  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  now  Pittsburgh,  by  general 
Forbes  in  1758." 

From  Logstown  a  mile  and  a  half  to  Crow's  island  which 
is  small,  the  banks  are  very  pleasant,  rising  gradually  from 
the  water's  edge,  and  having  a  fine  bottom  on  the  right. 
Here  we  met  two  large  keel  boats  loaded  with  cotton  in 
bales,  from  Nashville  in  Tennessee  bound  to  Pittsburgh, 
out  twenty-six  days.  They  had  nine  men  in  each  —  one 
steering,  six  poling,  and  two  resting. 

Half  a  mile  from  hence  on  the  right,  is  a  good  log  house 
with  a  sign  of  a  white  horse,  kept  by  James  Knox;  in  passing, 
it,  a  young  woman  answered  several  questions  we  asked  her 
very  civilly;  which  I  mention  as  a  rare  circumstance,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  have  too  generally 

"  For  a  sketch  of  Logstown,  see  Weiser's  Journal,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  24,  note 
17. —  Ed. 


98  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

acquired  a  habit,  of  either  not  deigning  an  answer  to  the 
interrogatories  of  the  numerous  river  travellers,  or  of  giv- 
ing them  a  short  and  boorish  one,  or  of  turning  [81]  their 
questions  into  ridicule;  which  proceeds  from  the  imper- 
tinent manner  in  which  they  are  generally  hailed  and  ad- 
dressed by  the  people  in  the  boats. 

Two  miles  lower  we  passed  a  good  house  and  a  saw-mill 
in  a  beautiful  rural  situation  on  the  left  bank,  and  here  we 
met  a  decent  looking  man,  polling  a  skiff  against  the  current : 
He  was  going  to  Pittsburgh  and  had  come  upwards  of 
twenty  miles  since  morning. 

At  half  past  four  in  the  afternoon  we  were  abreast  of 
Big  Beaver  creek  or  river  on  the  right,  five  miles  below  the 
saw  mill.  It  empties  through  a  level,  and  is  about  fifty 
yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  with  a  gentle  current. 

Some  boys  on  the  beach  mischievously  misinformed  us 
respecting  the  proper  landing,  to  the  town  of  Beaver,  which 
is  but  a  little  way  beyond  the  creek,  instead  of  which  we 
rowed  a  mile  lower  down,  and  then  had  to  set  our  skiff  across 
a  bar,  which  extends  above  a  mile  in  front  of  the  right  bank. 
After  landing,  we  had  to  climb  a  precipice  to  a  log  cabin, 
on  the  top  and  edge  of  the  cliff,  near  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  river:  Here  we  got  directions  for  our 
path,  and  after  a  walk  of  half  a  mile,  we  reached  the  town 
of  Beaver. 

It  stands  on  a  stony  plain  on  the  top  of  the  high  cliff  which 
conceals  it  from  the  river,  and  contains  about  thirty  indiffer- 
ent houses,  much  scattered,  on  three  parallel  streets.  There 
is  a  stone  gaol  not  quite  finished,  which  was  the  only  publick 
building  we  noticed. ^^  The  inhabitants  not  finding  water 
at  a  convenient  depth,  have,  in  preference  to  digging  very 
deep  wells,  led  it  by  wooden  pipes  from  a  hill  near  a  mile 

"  A  small  brick  market-house  has  been  since  built,  and  after  many  trials,  a 
well  sunk  from  which  the  inhabitants  are  supplied  with  water. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  99 

from  the  town,  and  have  placed  publick  wooden  fountains 
in  the  streets  at  convenient  distances. 

[82]  We  were  shewn  the  scite  of  Fort  M'Intosh,  of  which 
no  vestige  remains  except  the  hearth  of  the  officers'  fire 
place:  It  is  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  commanding  the  river. 
Altogether,  Beaver  seems  to  be  very  badly  situated  on  the 
high  plain,  when  it  ought  to  have  been  placed  at  the  con- 
fluence of  Beaver  creek  with  the  Ohio,  where  there  is  a  bot- 
tom with  room  enough  for  a  town,  and  an  excellent  landing, 
and  where  are  now  two  good  looking  houses  with  tavern 
signs.  The  neighbouring  high  situation  notwithstanding 
its  inconveniences,  was  probably  preferred,  on  account  of 
the  superior  salubrity  of  the  air.^' 

On  entering  Beaver,  we  refreshed  ourselves  with  six 
cents  worth  of  whiskey  and  water  at  general  Lacock's  tavern. 
He  is  one  of  the  representatives  in  the  assembly  of  the  state, 
and  has  both  considerable  influence  and  abilities.  I  had 
heard  him  in  the  house  of  representatives  when  I  was  at 
Lancaster  in  the  winter,  and  was  much  entertained  by  the 
wit  and  humour  he  displayed  in  the  course  of  a  debate  on 
fixing  a  permanent  seat  of  government."    We  had  not 

"  With  regard  to  the  Indian  towns  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Beaver,  see  Weiser's 
Journal,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  26,  note  22. 

The  present  town  of  Beaver  was  laid  out  in  1792,  and  eight  years  later  made 
the  county  town  for  the  newly-erected  Beaver  County.  Fort  Mcintosh  was  a 
Revolutionary  post  erected  (1778)  by  General  Lachlin  Mcintosh,  who  had  been 
chosen  to  succeed  General  Hand  at  Fort  Pitt.  It  was  the  first  military  post  in  the 
Indian  territory  beyond  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  rivers.  An  important  Indian 
treaty  was  held  at  this  place  in  1784;  but  four  years  later  the  fort  was  demolished, 
the  erection  of  lower  posts  on  the  Ohio  having  rendered  it  superfluous. —  Ed. 

*'  The  career  of  General  Abner  Lacock  is  illustrative  of  the  ability  and  force 
of  character  that  rendered  so  many  pioneers  eminent.  Of  Virginia  birth,  he  had 
but  sUght  education,  migrating  to  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  at  an  early 
age.  When  the  town  of  Beaver  was  erected  he  bought  some  of  the  first  lots,  and 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  as  well  as  tavern-keeper.  His  entry  into  general 
politics  was  signalized  (1801)  by  election  to  the  Pennsylvania  assembly,  and  in 
1808  he  was  chosen  state  senator.  National  affairs  claimed  him  when  elected 
United  States  Senator  (1813),  in  which  position  he  championed  internal  improve- 


lOO  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  general  now,  and  proceeded  from 
his  house  to  Mr.  Wilson's,  one  of  the  best  in  the  place,  con- 
formably to  a  promise  I  had  given  him  in  Pittsburgh.  Mrs. 
Wilson,  a  very  pretty  woman,  told  us  that  her  husband  was 
absent  in  Philadelphia:  —  We  left  our  names,  walked  across 
the  street  to  Hemphill's  tavern,  got  some  information  respect- 
ing the  country;  and  then  returned  to  our  boat,  meeting  on 
our  way  the  constable  crying  at  publick  sale,  a  poor  horse 
attached  for  debt,  for  which  the  last  bid  was  thirteen  dollars 
twenty-five  cents.  It  is  seven  years  since  Beaver  was  laid 
out  for  a  town. 

]^'^^    CHAPTER  X 

Thunder  storm  —  Hospitable  reception  at  Potts' s  —  George- 
town —  Little  Beaver  creek  —  State  division  line  —  Fau- 
cetstown  —  Croxton's  —  Squire  Brown's. 

A  FERRY  two  miles  below  Beaver  is  a  handsome  situation, 
beyond  which  the  banks  are  high  on  both  sides,  and  the  river 
does  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide. 

About  half  past  seven,  it  began  to  rain  with  heavy  thunder 
and  sharp  lightning.  We  huddled  into  the  stem  under  the 
awning,  and  I  sculled  with  one  oar  to  keep  the  boat  in  the 
channel,  in  hopes  of  getting  to  Georgetown;  but  the  storm 
increasing,  we  judged  it  more  prudent  to  stop  at  nine  o'clock 
where  we  saw  a  light  on  the  left  bank.  We  were  received 
very  hospitably  in  their  small  log  house  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Potts."  Our  landlady  gave  us  bread  and  milk,  which  after 
changing  our  wet  clothes,  we  supped  on  sumptuously.  We 
then  made  some  milk  punch,  which  our  landlord  partook 
of  with  us  with  great  gout,  entertaining  us  with  some  good 

ments  and  popular  education.  Having  incurred  the  resentment  of  Jackson  by 
his  services  on  the  committee  to  investigate  the  Seminole  War,  his  retirement 
ensued;  whereupon  he  returned  to  Beaver,  whose  citizen  he  remained  until  his 
death  in  1837. —  Ed. 

*'  The  creek  at  this  place  is  still  known  as  Potts  Run. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  i  o  i 

songs,  and  long  stories  about  his  travels.  Time  thus  passed 
away  while  the  storm  pelted  without,  and  it  was  not  until 
eleven  o'clock  that  we  stretched  ourselves  on  the  floor, 
with  our  feet  to  the  fire,  and  enjoyed  a  good  nap,  resisting 
the  kind  importunities  of  the  Potts' s  to  take  their  own  bed, 
their  other  one  being  filled  with  their  five  children.  And 
here  I  must  remark  that  throughout  this  whole  country, 
wherever  you  see  a  cabin,  you  see  a  swarm  of  children. 

At  six  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  19th  July,  we  left 
Potts' s,  after  having  recompensed  them  for  their  hospitality. 
This  was  ten  miles  below  Beaver,  and  two  and  a  half  above 
Georgetown.  There  are  three  small  islands  in  that  dis- 
tance called  First,  Second,  and  Grape  island. 

[84]  I  landed  at  Georgetown  on  the  left,  which  contains 
about  thirty  houses  in  a  fine  situation,  on  a  narrow  plain 
extending  from  the  high  river  bank,  to  the  hills  which  sur- 
round it  like  an  amphitheatre.  Though  it  is  a  post  town, 
and  a  considerable  thoroughfare  of  travellers,  it  is  neverthe- 
less on  the  decline,  there  being  only  twenty-five  houses 
inhabited.^'  A  shower  coming  on,  I  took  shelter  in  the 
house  of  a  very  communicative  elderly  man,  whose  wife 
was  young  and  very  handsome,  though  an  half  blood  Indian. 

Little  Beaver  creek'**  nearly  opposite  to  Georgetown,  is  a 

'•  Georgetown  was  founded  in  1793  by  Benoni  Dawson  of  Maryland,  who 
named  it  in  honor  of  the  city  of  that  name,  now  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  It 
is  "a  prosperous-looking,  sedate  town,  with  tidy  lawns  running  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  terrace."     See  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio  (Chicago,  1903). —  Ed. 

'"  This  is  a  valuable  stream  for  water  works,  though  wildly  and  romantically 
hemmed  in  by  vast  hills  on  both  sides.  There  are  two  grist  mills,  a  saw  mill,  and 
a  large  paper  mill,  all  within  two  miles  of  its  mouth;  the  latter  has  been  lately 
erected,  and  is  owned  by  Jacob  Bowman  of  Brownsville,  John  Bever  of  George- 
town, and  John  Coulter,  who  resides  at  the  mill.  Over  this  creek,  about  a  mile 
from  its  mouth,  a  new  toll  bridge  was  erected  in  the  sximmer  and  fall  of  1809,  on  the 
road  leading  from  Washington  county  to  New  Lisbon,  Canton,  Worster,  &c.  state  of 
Ohio.  About  a  mile  above  Little  Beaver,  in  the  bed  of  the  Ohio,  and  near  the 
north  western  side,  a  substance  bubbles  up,  and  may  be  collected  at  particular 
times  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  similar  to  Seneca  oU.    When  the  water  is  not  too 


I02  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

handsome  little  river,  about  thirty  yards  wide;  half  a  mile 
below  which,  we  saw  the  division  line  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia  on  the  left,  [85]  and  between  the  former  and 
Ohio  on  the  right,  which  were  cleared  of  wood  forty  feet 
wide  in  their  whole  length  some  years  ago;  a  new  growth 
of  trees,  bids  fair  to  obliterate  very  shortly  these  temporary 
boundaries." 

Near  this  on  the  left  bank  opposite  a  small  island,  is  a 
curious  stratum  of  slate,  covering  a  substratum  of  coal, 
which  also  shews  itself. 

A  mile  below  this  is  Custard's  island,  a  mile  long,  opposite 
the  lower  end  of  which  on  the  left,  is  the  very  pleasantly 
situated  house  and  farm  of  Mr.  Stewart,  in  passing  which 
we  were  asked  by  some  people  at  the  landing,  if  we  had  seen 
a  man  polling  up  a  skiff  yesterday  on  his  way  to  Pittsburgh, 
and  they  pointed  out  his  house  on  the  opposite  bank,  which 
he  had  left  yesterday;  which  was  matter  of  astonishment  to 
us,  how  the  man  we  hailed  in  this  skiff  above  Beaver,  could 
have  surmounted  so  many  ripples  and  rapids  in  so  short  a 
time;  it  evinced  uncommon  strength,  activity,  and  persever- 
ance. 


high,  it  can  be  strongly  smelt  while  crossing  the  river  at  Georgetown:  It  is  pre- 
sumed to  rise  from  or  through  a  bed  of  mineral  coal  embowelled  under  the  bed  of 
the  river.  The  virtues  of  the  Seneca  oil  are  similar  to  those  of  the  British  oil,  and 
supposed  to  be  equally  valuable  in  the  cures  of  rheumatick  pains,  &c. — Large 
quantities  of  the  Seneca  oil  is  collected  on  Oil  creek,  a  branch  of  the  Allegheny 
river,  and  sold  at  from  one  dollar  and  a  half  to  two  dollars  per  gallon.  The  mode 
of  collecting  it  is  this;  the  place  where  it  is  found  bubbling  up  in  the  creek  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  wall  or  dam  to  a  narrow  compass,  a  man  then  takes  a  blanket,  flannel, 
or  other  woollen  cloth,  to  which  the  oil  adheres,  and  spreading  it  over  the  surface 
of  the  enclosed  pond,  presses  it  down  a  little,  then  draws  it  up,  and  running  the 
cloth  through  his  hands,  squeezes  out  the  oil  into  a  vessel  prepared  for  the  purpose; 
thus  twenty  or  thirty  gallons  of  pure  oil  can  be  obtained  in  two  or  three  days  by  one 
man. —  Cramer. 

'^  The  boundary  is  now  marked  by  a  stone  monument.  On  the  historic  con- 
troversy concerning  this  boundary,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series 
p.  170,  note  31. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming  s  Tour  to  the  West  103 

A  mile  and  a  half  below  Stewart's,  we  passed  Faucets- 
town,  a  hamlet  of  five  or  six  houses  and  a  ferry,  from  whence 
is  a  road  thirty  miles  to  Warren  in  Ohio.  Here  I  observed 
some  seines  for  fishing,  made  by  fastening  bushes  together 
with  the  tough  and  flexible  stalks  of  the  wild  grape,  with 
which  this  whole  western  country  abounds. 

Two  miles  below  Faucetstown,  on  the  right,  is  a  remark- 
able rocky  cliff,  three  hundred  feet  perpendicular,  from 
which  to  Baker's  island  of  a  mile  in  length,  is  two  miles, 
and  from  thence  about  a  mile  further,  we  passed  on  the  right, 
Yellow  creek,  ®^  a  handsome  little  river  thirty  yards  wide, 
with  Mr.  Pettyford's  good  ston^  house  well  situated  on  its 
left  bank."' 

[86]  From  Yellow  creek  the  appearance  of  the  soil  and 
country  is  better  than  above  it,  and  the  river  is  very  beauti- 
ful, being  in  general  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  inter- 
spersed with  several  islands,  which  add  much  to  its  beauty; 
some  being  partly  cultivated  and  partly  in  wood,  some 
wholly  in  wood,  and  some  covered  with  low  aquatick  shrubs 
and  bushes;  and  all  fringed  with  low  willows,  whose  yel- 
lowish green  foliage,  contrasted  with  the  rich  and  variegated 
verdure  of  the  gigantick  forest  trees,  the  fields  of  wheat  and 
Indian  corn,  and  the  dwarf  alders,  other  shrubbery  and 
reeds  of  the  inundated  islands,  which  they  surround,  mark 
their  bounds  as  on  a  coloured  map.  First  Neasley's  cluster 
of  small  islands,  two  miles  below  Yellow  creek;  then  Black's 
island  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  two  miles  below  them,  and 
lastly.  Little  island  close  to  the  west  end  of  Black's,  joined 


"  A  few  miles  up  this  creek  are  several  valuable  salt  springs;  at  two  of  which 
quantities  of  excellent  salt  is  made. —  Cramer. 

^  For  the  historic  incidents  connected  with  Yellow  Creek  and  Baker's  bottom, 
see  Croghan's  Journal,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  127,  note  93,  and  Thwaites,  On  the 
Storied  Ohio. —  Ed. 


1 04  Esarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

by  a  sand  bar  to  the  right  shore,  where  Jacob  Neasley  has  a 
good  two  story  wooden  house,  with  a  piazza.®* 

Four  miles  further  we  stopped  at  Wm.  Croxton's  tavern, 
the  sign  of  the  Black  Horse,  on  the  Virginia  side,  and  got 
a  bowl  of  excellent  cider-oil.  This  is  stronger  than  Madeira 
and  is  obtained  from  the  cider  by  suffering  it  to  freeze  in  the 
cask  during  the  winter,  and  then  drawing  off  and  barrelling 
up  the  spirituous  part  which  remains  liquid,  while  the  aque- 
ous is  quickly  congealed  by  the  frost.  Croxton  and  his 
wife  had  a  youthful  appearance,  notwithstanding  they  had 
eight  children,  seven  of  whom  were  living. 

He  was  born  in  this  neighbourhood,  lived  here  during 
the  last  Indian  war,  and  cultivated  a  bottom  opposite, 
through  which  flows  a  rivulet  called  Croxton's  run,  which 
turns  a  grist  and  saw  mill.**  On  the  United  States  appro- 
priating the  N.  W.  territory,  now  the  state  of  Ohio,  he  lost 
all  that  property  by  its  being  purchased  by  others,  before  he 
became  informed  of  the  necessity  of  his  securing  his  tenure 
by  obtaining  a  grant  from  the  government.  He  complained 
[87]  of  a  toothache,  from  the  torture  of  which  I  relieved  him, 
by  burning  the  nerve  with  a  hot  knitting  needle,  which 
however  did  not  prevent  him  from  charging  us  for  our  cider. 

On  the  opposite  bank  a  mile  below  Croxton's,  a  Mr. 
White  of  Middleton  in  Virginia,  is  building  a  fine  house  of 
hewn  stone;  and  a  mile  further  on  the  same  side,  we  admired 
the  romantick  situation  of  a  farm  house,  with  a  garden  tastily 
filled  with  a  profusion  of  flowers;  opposite  to  which  on  the 
Virginia  side,  is  a  remarkable  cliff  near  the  top  of  the  high 


•*  This  group  of  islands  is  still  known  as  Kneisti/s  Cluster.  See  Thwaites,  On 
the  Storied  Ohio. 

Jacob  Kneistiy  (or  Nessly)  was  of  Swiss  origin  and  emigrated  to  this  region 
from  Pennsylvania  about  1785. —  Ed. 

*  Croxton's  Run  was  the  scene  of  one  of  the  last  Indian  fights  in  this  vicinity 
(1787).  Fourteen  hunters  were  attacked  here  by  a  party  of  wandering  Shawnees, 
and  four  of  the  whites  killed. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  105 

river  hill,  occasioned  by  a  large  piece  of  the  hill  having 
broken  ofiE  and  fallen  down. 

Four  miles  below  Croxton's  we  passed  Brown's  island, 
containing  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  first  rate  land, 
on  the  right,  and  opposite  the  lower  end  of  it  on  the  left 
we  stopped  for  the  night  at  Brown's,  who  is  a  magistrate, 
and  has  a  noble  farm  and  a  house  very  pleasantly  situated 
on  a  high  bank,  with  a  steep  slope  to  the  river. 

We  found  the  squire  weighing  sugar,  which  he  had  sold 
to  Mr.  Sumrall  of  Pittsburgh,  who  owns  some  regular 
freighting  keel  boats,  who  with  one  of  them  was  now  on 
his  return  from  Cumberland  river,  and  had  also  stopped  here 
for  the  night. 

The  negroes,  cattle,  offices,  and  the  appearance  of  every 
thing  here,  indicated  the  greatest  abundance  of  the  produce 
of  this  plentiful  country.  Neither  the  old  squire  nor  his 
wife,  ever  knew  confinement  by  accident  or  bad  health, 
until  about  two  months  ago,  when  by  a  fall  from  her  horse, 
she  dislocated  her  hip,  and  broke  one  of  her  knees.  Her 
son  restored  the  limbs  to  their  places,  and  she  employed  no 
surgeon,  but  is  curing  herself  gradually,  though  slowly,  by  an 
embrocation  of  camphorated  spirit. 

After  supping  with  the  old  gentleman,  near  his  old  wife's 
bed  side,  on  apple  pye,  bread,  butter  and  milk,  he  kissed 
her,  and  then  shewed  us  to  a  room  [88]  with  four  beds  in  it, 
one  of  which  he  occupied  himself,  and  gave  us  possession 
of  another,  which  we  were  not  allowed  to  possess  in  peace, 
as  its  indigenous  inhabitants,  indignant  at  our  intrusion, 
assailed  us  all  night  with  such  fury,  as  to  drive  us  from 
their  quarters  at  the  first  dawn  of  day.  The  old  man  had 
entertained  us  until  a  late  hour,  by  narrating  to  us  his  situa- 
tion, and  that  of  his  family.  His  children  have  all  good 
farms,  and  he  intends  making  no  will,  that  they  may  inherit 
equally,  (according  to  the  very  equitable  law  of  this  country 


io6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

respecting  intestate  inheritance)  whatever  he  may  die 
possessed  of,  which  he  gave  us  to  understand  was  very 
considerable. —  One  daughter  is  married  to  a  Mr.  Madan, 
an  Irishman,  to  whom  he  gave  a  farm  with  her,  which 
Madan  sold  for  a  thousand  dollars  five  years  ago,  and 
removed  to  St.  Genevieve  on  the  Mississippi,  where  he  is 
now  a  land  surveyor  with  an  income  of  two  thousand  dollars 
per  annum.  Two  years  ago,  squire  Brown,  notwithstanding 
his  age,  about  seventy,  paid  his  daughter  a  visit,  a  distance 
of  a  thousand  miles. 

Though  he  does  not  keep  a  tavern,  he  knows  how  to 
charge  as  if  he  did,  we  having  to  pay  him  half  a  dollar  for 
our  plain  supper,  plainer  bed,  and  two  quarts  of  milk  we 
took  with  us  next  morning;  which  was  very  high  in  a  country 
where  cash  is  very  scarce,  and  every  thing  else  very  abun- 
dant. 

[89]  CHAPTER  XI 

Remarkable  bend  in  the  river  —  Steubenville  —  Ornament- 
ed seats  and  farms  —  Charlestown  —  Bakewell's,  and 
ojther  manufacturies  —  A  versatile  professional  character 
—  Buffalo  creek. 

At  6  o'clock  on  Monday,  20th  July,  we  proceeded  on  our 
voyage,  and  three  miles  below  Brown's  passed  a  point  or 
rather  a  peninsula  on  the  left,  formed  by  a  remarkable  turn 
in  the  river,  which  takes  a  direction  due  east  for  two  miles; 
its  general  course  from  Big  Beaver  to  Baker's  island  having 
been  west,  and  from  thence  south.  On  the  peninsula  is  a 
well  cleared  and  beautifully  situated  farm,  and  there  is  a 
remarkable  heap  of  loose  rocks  on  the  opposite  shore,  where 
a  small  creek  falls  into  the  Ohio,  with  a  neat  stone  cottage 
at  its  mouth.  At  the  end  of  the  easterly  reach  is  a  good 
two  story  stone  house  of  a  Mr.  Kelly,  just  under  a  hill  on  the 
Ohio  side,  with  a  fine  bottom  opposite. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  1 07 

At  a  little  before  eight  o'clock  we  stopped  at  Steubenville, 
the  capital  of  Jefferson  county  in  Ohio,  seven  miles  from 
Brown's.  This  town  has  been  settled  about  eight  years, 
chiefly  by  emigrants  from  the  state  of  Jersey.  It  contains 
one  hundred  and  sixty  houses,  including  a  new  gaol  of  hewn 
stone,  a  court  house  of  square  logs  (which  it  is  said  is  to  be 
soon  replaced  by  a  new  one®'  of  better  materials),  and  a 
brick  presbyterian  church.  There  are  four  or  five  different 
sects  of  christians  in  this  town,  but  no  established  minister, 
except  a  Mr.  Snodgrass  to  the  presbyterians,  and  a  Mr. 
Doddridge,  who  comes  from  [90]  Charlestown  in  Virginia, 
every  other  Sunday,  to  officiate  to  the  episcopalians  in  the 
court  house,  which  is  occasionally  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose by  the  other  sects. 

There  is  a  land  office  here  for  the  sale  of  the  publick 
lands,  from  which  large  sums  in  Spanish  dollars  are  sent 
annually  to  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  in  Washington. 
Perhaps  this  is  one  cause  of  the  town  having  increased  so 
rapidly.  Another  may  be  its  very  handsome  situation. 
The  first  street,  which  is  parallel  to  the  river,  is  on  a  narrow 
flat,  sufficiently  raised  above  the  river  floods;  while  the 
rest  of  the  town  is  about  twenty  feet  perpendicular  above  it, 
on  an  extensive  plain,  rising  gradually  with  a  gentle  slope 
to  the  foot  of  the  hills  which  surround  it  in  a  semicircle  like 
an  amphitheatre,  about  a  mile  distant.  On  one  of  those  a 
Mr.  Smith  has  a  house  and  farm  which  seems  to  impend 
over  the  south  end  of  the  town,  from  an  elevation  of  four 
hundred  feet  perpendicular  from  the  bed  of  the  river. 
Mr.  Bazil.  Wells,  who  is  joint  proprietor  of  the  soil  with  Mr. 
James  Ross  of  Pittsburgh,  has  a  handsome  house  and  finely 


••  A  handsome  brick  court  house  has  since  been  erected,  and  the  inside  work 
neariy  completed.  An  original  bank  was  established  at  Steubenville  in  1809,  by  a 
law  of  the  state,  with  a  capital  of  100,000  dollars,  with  power  to  increase  it  to  500,000 
dollars.     Bazaleel  Wells  president,  W.  R.  Dickinson,  cashier. —  Cramer. 


io8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

improved  garden  and  farm  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mUe  below  the  town." 

We  remained  about  an  hour  in  Steubenville,  (which  is 
named  in  honour  of  the  late  major  general  baron  Steuben, 
the  founder  of  the  present  American  military  tacticks) :  We 
then  pursued  our  course  down  the  river,  passing  at  half  a 
mile  a  point  on  the  left,  where  is  a  tavern  with  a  fine  ex- 
tensive bottom  behind  it;  and  four  and  a  half  miles  further, 
we  left  Mingo  bottom  island  (very  small)  on  the  left;  half 
a  mile  below  which  on  the  right  is  Mr.  Potter's  handsome 
square  roofed  house,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  lower  down  is 
Mr.  Pratt's  neat  frame  cottage,  ornamented  like  Potter's 
with  weeping  willows  and  Lombardy  poplars.  A  mile  and 
a  quarter  from  hence  we  passed  two  small  creeks  called 
Cross  creeks,  one  on  [91]  each  hand,  and  a  mile  and  a  half 
below  them,  on  turning  a  point  on  the  left,  we  saw  Charles- 
town,  half  a  league  before  us,  on  the  Virginia  side,  making 
a  handsome  appearance,  with  the  white  spire  of  the  court 
house,  and  several  good  looking  private  houses,  which  are 
distinctly  seen  from  the  river,  on  account  of  the  situation 
being  on  a  lower  bank  than  that  of  Steubenville. 

At  eleven  we  landed  in  Charlestown,®^  went  to  the  inn 
where  the  mail  stage  between  Pittsburgh  and  Wheeling 
stops,  and  ordered  dinner,  during  the  preparation  of  which, 
we  amused  ourselves  with  walking  through  the  town.  It 
was  laid  out  about  fourteen  years  ago,  and  now  contains 

"  Steubenville  was  founded  (1797)  upon  the  site  of  Fort  Steuben,  one  of  the 
earliest  blockhouses  built  in  Ohio  by  the  Federal  government  (1786-87). 

Bezaleel  Wells  was  the  son  of  Alexander  Wells,  a  well-known  West  Virginia 
pioneer  who  founded  the  town  of  Wellsburg,  dying  there  in  1813.  The  son  was 
considered  the  best  surveyor  in  the  region,  and  laid  out  and  speculated  in  town  lots 
at  Canton,  Ohio,  as  well  as  at  Steubenville. —  Ed. 

'*The  present  town  of  Wellsburg,  West  Virginia,  was  first  laid  out  (1791) 
under  the  name  of  Charlestown,  in  honor  of  Charles  Prather,  its  earliest  proprietor. 
In  1816  its  name  was  changed  by  action  of  the  legislature. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  1 09 

about  eighty  houses  of  various  materials  —  brick,  stone  and 
wood,  principally  in  one  street  parallel  to  the  Ohio.  In 
the  middle  is  a  convenient  little  court  house  of  stone,  with 
a  small,  light  cupola  spire.  The  gaol  is  behind  it,  and  in 
front  is  the  pillory,"  on  a  plan  differing  from  any  I  ever  saw 
elsewhere:  A  large,  round  wooden  cover,  like  an  immense 
umbrella,  serving  as  a  shade  for  the  criminal  in  the  stocks, 
or  for  a  platform  for  one  in  the  pillory  to  stand  on,  or  for  a 
shelter  from  sun  or  rain  to  the  inhabitants  who  meet  on 
business  in  front  of  the  court  house,  the  place  generally 
used  as  a  sort  of  exchange  in  the  small  towns  in  this  country. 
A  Col.  Connel,  who  is  a  farmer,  and  clerk  of  the  county 
courts  of  Brooke  county,  has  a  very  large  but  unfinished 
house  of  hewn  stone  near  the  court  house.  The  academy 
is  a  good  brick  building  on  the  ascent  of  the  hill  behind  the 
town,  and  was  a  good  school  until  broken  up  by  some  politi- 
cal division  among  the  inhabitants,  which  induced  Mr. 
Johnston,  the  last  master,  to  remove  to  Beaver  [92]  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  now  keeps  the  county  clerk's 
office." 

Mr.  Bakewell  from  England,  who  has  been  established 
here  about  two  years,  politely  shewed  us  his  manufactury 
of  pottery  and  queensware.  He  told  us  that  the  business 
would  answer  very  well,  could  workmen  be  got  to  be  de- 
pended upon;  but  that  those  he  has  hitherto  employed,  have 
always  quit  his  service  before  the  term  of  the  expiration  of 
their  contracts,  notwithstanding  any  law  to  the  contrary;  and 

"  The  pillory  punishment,  a  few  years  ago,  prevailed  throughout  several  of  the 
states,  but  has  been  wisely  abolished  by  all  but  Virginia. —  Cramer. 

'"  Mr.  David  Johnston  was  removed  from  his  office  in  Beaver  county  after  the 
election  of  Mr.  Snyder  as  governor.  Before  he  went  to  Charlestown  he  taught  in 
the  Canonsburgh  college,  and  was  elected  in  that  county,  Washington,  to  a  seat  in 
the  Pennsylvania  legislature.  He  now  teaches  a  private  school  in  Brownsville. — 
Cramer. 


no  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

two  of  them  have  actually  set  up  small  manufacturies  in 
Charlestown,  one  of  queensware  in  opposition  to  him,  and 
the  other  of  tobacco  pipes.  Bakewell's  ware  is  very  good, 
but  not  so  fine,  nor  so  well  glazed  as  that  manufactured  in 
England,  owing  probably  to  the  difference  of  materials,  as 
the  process  is  the  same. 

Mr.  Doddridge  who  officiates  alternately  here  and  at 
Steubenville,  to  the  episcopal  congregations,  first  practised 
law,  then  physick,  and  now  adds  the  trade  of  a  tanner  to 
the  profession  of  divinity." 

The  wells  here  are  dug  forty  to  fifty  feet  deep  before  water 
is  come  at,  but  that  inconvenience  might  be  easily  remedied 
by  conveying  water  to  the  town  in  pipes  from  the  surrounding 
hills,  which  will  doubtless  be  the  case,  should  it  ever  become 
a  manufacturing  town;  which  a  few  more  inhabitants  of 
equal  spirit  and  enterprize  with  Bakewell  would  soon  effect. 

Buffalo  creek  falls  into  the  Ohio  at  the  south  end  of  the 
town,  after  a  course  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  through  Wash- 
ington county  in  Pennsylvania,  and  [93]  the  narrow  tongue 
of  Virginia  in  which  Charlestown  is  situated.  It  had  a 
wooden  bridge  about  forty  yards  in  length  across  the  mouth 
of  it,  on  the  post  road  to  Wheeling,  which  was  carried  away 
last  spring  by  a  flood." 


'*  Cuming  here  refers  to  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Doddridge,  whose  Notes  on  the  Set- 
tlement and  Indian  Wars  of  the  Western  Parts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  (Wells- 
burgh,  1824;  second  edition,  Albany,  1876)  is  a  mine  of  antiquarian  lore.  Dod- 
dridge, the  son  of  a  well-known  pioneer,  was  born  (1769)  in  Bedford  County, 
Pennsylvania;  but  at  an  eariy  age  his  father  removed  to  Washington  County  and 
the  family  experienced  backwoods  life.  Young  Doddridge  was  first  a  Methodist 
itinerant,  but  later  ordained  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  He  also  studied 
medicine  under  Dr.  Rush  in  Philadelphia,  and  settled  at  Wellsburg,  where  he  was 
a  useful  and  influential  citizen.  His  brother  PhiUp  was  a  well-known  Virginia 
lawyer  and  statesman.  See  West  Virginia  Historical  Magazine,  January,  1902,  on 
the  Doddridges. —  Ed. 

"  This  bridge  has  since  been  rebmlt. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  1 1  i 

CHAPTER  XII 

New  town  and  settlement  of  Warren  —  Roland's  ferry  — 
Comfortable  situation,  the  effect  of  industry  —  Wheeling 
—  Walk  by  moon-light  —  New  state  road  —  Wheeling 
island  —  Canton. 

We  proceeded  after  dinner  from  Charlestown,  three  and 
a  half  miles  to  a  ferry,  and  two  miles  further,  we  passed  a 
point  and  a  tavern  on  the  right,  a  mile  and  a  half  below 
which  on  the  same  hand,  is  the  straggling  town  and  fine 
settlement  of  Warren,  laid  out  by  Mr.  Kimberly,  the  pro- 
prietor, five  years  ago,  but  it  is  only  within  two  years  that 
it  has  began  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  town.  It  con- 
tains thirty-eight  dwelling  houses,  charmingly  situated  on 
an  extensive  bottom,  the  largest  I  had  noticed  since  leaving 
Pittsburgh,  with  Indian  Short  creek  emptying  into  the  Ohio 
at  its  southern  extremity. 

Three  miles  lower,  we  passed  Pike  island,  which  is  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  long,  and  seems  capable  of  cultiva- 
tion, though  perhaps  rather  low.  Opposite  to  it  is  the 
boundary  line  between  Jefferson  and  Belmont  counties  in 
Ohio. 

Two  miles  further,  at  six  o'clock  we  landed  at  Roland's 
ferry,  on  the  left,  and  found  Roland  and  his  son  employed 
building  a  boat  on  the  bank.  He  had  removed  from  Pitts- 
burgh last  April,  and  now  rents  [94]  a  small  farm  from  Mr. 
Woods,  the  county  surveyor,  who  has  a  handsome  house  in 
sight,  a  little  remote  from  the  river  where  he  resides,  another 
on  the  bank  a  little  lower  doWn,  and  a  cottage  amongst  the 
woods  on  the  highest  neighbouring  hill,  intended  for  a 
banqueting  house  during  summer,  and  commanding  an 
extensive  prospect.  At  Roland's  invitation,  we  walked  to  his 
cottage  a  little  distant  from  the  river  bank.     His  wife  and  a 


112  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

very  fine  girl  his  eldest  daughter  were  spinning  cotton, 
while  a  younger  one  was  attending  the  ferry,  who  though  a 
delicate  and  pretty  girl,  paddled  the  skiff  backwards  and 
forwards  as  well  as  a  man  could  do.  He  has  been  very 
industrious,  as  besides  having  built  several  skiffs  since  his 
removal,  he  had  planted  and  cultivated  twelve  acres  of  the 
finest  com  I  ever  saw,  some  of  it  now  twelve  feet  high,  just 
beginning  to  ear.  He  had  also  a  large  garden  well  stocked 
with  useful  roots  and  vegetables. 

At  seven  we  left  Roland's,  and  three  miles  and  a  half 
below,  passed  between  the  north  end  of  Wheeling  island  on 
the  right,  and  the  principal  part  of  the  town  of  Wheeling 
on  the  left,"  which  is  situated  on  so  high  a  cliff,  with  the 
avenues  from  the  river  so  steep,  that  on  account  of  the  ap- 
parent difficulty  of  getting  our  baggage  carried  up,  we  pre- 
ferred going  on  to  where  the  cliff  was  considerably  lower, 
landing  just  under  Sprigg's  tavern  near  the  ship-yards,  a 
little  above  the  confluence  of  Wheeling  creek  with  the  Ohio. 

This  being  a  great  thoroughfare,  on  account  of  its  situa- 
tion where  the  great  post  roads  from  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, and  the  northern  part  of  Virginia  unite,  and  cross  the 
river,  on  the  route  through  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
to  Tennessee  and  New  Orleans,  we  found  several  travellers 
of  various  descriptions  in  the  house,  and  after  partaking 
with  them  of  a  good  supper,  we  went  out  to  saunter  until  bed 
time  through  the  town,  into  which  we  had  to  [95]  ascend  a 
steep  but  short  hill.  It  appeared  very  lively,  the  inhabi- 
tants being  about  their  doors,  or  in  the  street,  enjoying 
the  fresh  air  of  a  clear  moonlight  evening,  while  two  flutes 
were  playing  en  duo  the  simple  but  musical  Scots  ballad  of 
Roy's  wife  of  Aldwalloch,  the  prime  part  very  tastily  exe- 

"  On  the  early  history  of  Wheeling  and  its  importance  as  a  terminus  for  over- 
land travel  from  Redstone  and  Fort  Pitt,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this 
series,  p.  33,  note  15;  also  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio, —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  113 

cuted.  Yet  notwithstanding  appearances,  our  impression 
of  the  town  was  not  the  most  favourable,  nor  after  tolerable 
beds  and  a  good  breakfast  next  morning,  had  we  reason  to 
alter  our  opinion  when  we  examined  it  by  day  light. 

It  contains  one  hundred  and  twenty  houses  of  all  descrip- 
tions from  middling  downwards,  in  a  street  about  half  a  mile 
long,  parallel  to  the  river,  on  a  bank  of  about  one  hundred 
feet  perpendicular,  which  the  face  of  the  cliff  almost  literally 
is,  of  course  the  avenues  to  the  landings  are  very  steep  and 
inconvenient.  The  court-house  of  stone  with  a  small 
belfry,  has  nothing  in  beauty  to  boast  of.  The  gaol  joins 
it  in  the  rear. 

It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Zanes,  the  original  proprietor,  now 
regrets  that  he  had  not  placed  the  town  on  the  flat  below, 
at  the  conflux  of  the  Wheeling  and  Ohio,  where  Spriggs's 
inn  and  the  ship-yards  now  are,  instead  of  cultivating  it  as 
a  farm  until  lately,  when  a  resolve  of  congress  to  open  a  new 
publick  state  road  from  the  metropolis  through  the  western 
country,  which  will  come  to  the  Ohio  near  the  mouth  of 
Wheeling  creek,  induced  him  to  lay  it  out  in  town  lots,  but 
I  fear  he  is  too  late  to  see  it  become  a  considerable  town  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  old  one,  notwithstanding  its  more  ad- 
vantageous situation. —  The  present  town  does  not  seem 
to  thrive,  if  one  may  judge  by  the  state  of  new  buildings, 
two  only  of  which  I  saw  going  forward  in  it.  The  stores  also 
appeared  rather  thinly  stocked  with  goods,  and  the  retail 
prices  are  high.  When  the  new  road  is  finished,  it  will 
doubtless  be  of  great  use  to  Wheeling,  as  it  will  be  a  more 
direct  route  to  the  western  states,  [96]  than  any  of  the  others 
hitherto  used,  and  besides  there  are  no  material  impediments 
to  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  with  the  usual  craft,  below 
that  town  in  the  driest  seasons,  when  the  river  is  at  the  low- 
est. 

The  surrounding  country  in  sight  is  hilly  and  broken, 


114  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

but  I  am  informed  that  it  is  very  rich  and  plentiful  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  river. 

Wheeling  island  in  front  of  the  town,  is  about  a  mUe 
long,  and  half  a  mile  wide  in  its  broadest  part.  It  is  very 
fertile,  and  is  all  cultivated  as  a  farm  by  Mr.  Zanes.  The 
post  and  stage  road  to  Chilicothe  in  Ohio,  goes  across  it, 
which  occasions  two  ferries,  an  inconvenience  which  will  be 
remedied  by  the  new  state  road  crossing  by  one  ferry 
below  the  island. 

Indian  Wheeling  creek,  a  fine  mill  stream  joins  the  Ohio 
from  the  N.  W.  opposite  the  middle  of  the  island,  and  Mr. 
Zanes  has  lately  laid  out  a  new  town  there  named  Canton, 
which  has  now  thirteen  houses,  but  from  its  proximity  to 
Wheeling,  it  never  can  become  considerable.'* 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Little  Grave  creek  —  Remarkable  Indian  monument  — 
Floating  store  —  Big  Grave  creek  —  Captina  island  and 
creek  —  Baker's  station  —  Cressop's  —  Fish  creek  —  Bid- 
die's  —  John  Well's  —  A  rustick  chorister  —  Uncommon 
fly. 

On  the  21st  July  at  eight  A.  M.  we  left  Wheeling,  ob- 
serving nothing  very  interesting,  until  we  reached  Little 
Grave  creek,  eleven  miles  below  at  [97]  half  past  eleven 
o'clock.  The  creek,  which  is  very  small,  puts  in  from  the 
Virginia  side,  and  there  is  a  ferry  house  at  the  mouth  of  it, 
where  we  landed,  and  had  a  pleasant  walk  on  a  very  good 
wagon  road  of  half  a  mile  to  Tomlinson's,  the  proprietor 

'*The  use  of  the  terms  Indian  Wheeling  Creek,  Indian  Kentucky,  etc.  for 
streams  flowing  into  the  Ohio  from  its  northern  and  western  side  is  a  reminiscence 
of  the  days  when  the  Ohio  was  a  boundary  between  the  white  settlements  and 
Indian  territory.  The  Indian  title  to  these  lands  was  not  extingtiished,  and  the 
danger  of  attack  from  this  side  of  the  river  was  not  removed  until  after  the  Treaty 
of  Greenville  (1795). 

The  town  laid  out  opposite  Wheeling  was  not  the  nucleus  of  the  well-known 
Canton  (Stark  County),  Ohio;  but  a  place  that  perished,  according  to  Cuming's 
prediction. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  115 

of  the  surrounding  soil.  He  has"  been  settled  here  thirty 
years,  but  always  forted  until  the  conclusion  of  the  Indian 
war  by  General  Wayne.  He  then  attempted  to  establish 
a  town  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek  from  his  house;  but 
it  remains  without  augmentation,  with  only  eleven  cot- 
tages and  cabins.  The  neighbouring  country  however  is 
improving,  though  slowly.  Mr.  Tomlinson  has  a  very  good 
two  story  brick  house,  almost  finished,  fine  apple  and  peach 
orchards,  and  a  good  farm." 

Mrs.  Tomlinson  obligingly  permitted  one  of  her  sons  to 
guide  us  to  what  is  called  the  Indian  grave,  which  is  a  short 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  southward  of  the  house.  It  is  a 
circular  mound,  like  the  frustum  of  a  cone,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  yards  in  circumference  round  the  base, 
sixty  round  the  flat  on  the  top,  and  about  seventy  feet  per- 
pendicular height.  In  the  centre  of  the  flat  top  is  a  shallow 
hollow,  like  the  filled  up  crater  of  an  old  volcano,  which 
hollow  or  settle  is  said  to  have  been  formed  within  the 
memory  of  the  first  neighbouring  settlers,  and  is  supposed 
by  them  to  be  occasioned  by  the  settling  of  the  earth  on  the 
decayed  bodies. 

The  whole  mount  appears  to  be  formed  of  clay,  and  from 
its  regularity,  is  evidently  a  work  of  art,  though  I  am  not 
of  opinion  that  it  has  been  a  general  or  publick  cemetery, 
but  either  a  mausoleum  raised  over,  and  in  memory  of  some 
great  Indian  chief,  a  temple  for  religious  worship,  or  the 
scite  of  a  fortification,  or  citadel  to  serve  as  a  place  of  retreat 
from  a  superior  foe.  About  three  years  ago,  the  neighbours 
perforated  the  north  side,  at  about  half  the  elevation,  digging 
in  horizontally  about  twelve  feet,  without  any  [98]  other 
satisfaction  to  their  curiosity,  than  the  finding  of  part  of  a 
human  jaw  bone,  the  bone  rough  and  honeycombed,  but 

™  For  a  sketch  of  Joseph  Tomlinson,  a  well-known  pioneer,  see  Harris's  Jourttal, 
vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  360,  note  40.  The  expression  "forted"  means  that  he  lived 
within  a  stockade  stronghold  until  the  close  of  the  Indian  wars. —  Ed. 


1 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  teeth  entire,  and  the  surrounding  clay  of  a  white  chalky 
consistence. 

There  are  four  or  five  small  mounds  all  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  the  great  one,  each  about  thirty  feet  diam- 
eter, much  lower  in  proportion  than  it,  all  rounded  over  the 
tops,  and  like  the  great  one,  shewing  their  antiquity  by  the 
size  of  the  trees,  plants,  and  shrubs  which  cover  them,  and 
having  more  than  it  the  appearance  of  tumuli. 

The  bark  of  the  trees  which  crown  this  remarkable  monu- 
ment, is  covered  by  the  initials  of  visitors  cut  into  it,  wherever 
they  could  reach  —  the  number  of  which,  considering  the 
remote  situation,  is  truly  astonishing." 

On  returning  to  our  boat  we  found  a  floating  store  at  the 
landing.  It  was  a  large  square  flat,  roofed  and  fitted  with 
shelves  and  counter,  and  containing  a  various  assortment 
of  merchandize,  among  which  were  several  copper  stills, 
of  which  much  use  is  now  made  throughout  the  whole  west- 
ern country  for  distilling  peach  and  apple  brandy,  and  rye 
whiskey. —  The  store  had  two  owners,  who  acted  both  as 
boatmen  and  merchants,  and  who  freely  invited  us  to  par- 
take of  a  dram  with  them.  They  had  loaded  their  flat 
at  Wheeling,  and  were  dropping  down  the  river,  stopping 
occasionally  wherever  they  could  find  a  market  for  their 
goods. 

At  about  one  o'clock  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage,  passing 
on  the  right  Mr.  Dilly's  large  frame  house  and  fine  farm, 
round  which  the  river  takes  a  great  bend  to  the  westward.'^ 

™  On  the  subject  of  Indian  mounds,  see  for  recent  scientific  conclusions,  Luden 
Carr,  "Mound  Builders,"  in  Smithsonian  Institution  Report,  1891  (Washington, 
1893),  pp.  503-599;  also  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology  I2th  Annual  Report 
(Washington,  1894). —  Ed. 

"  Dillon's  Bottom  is  neariy  opposite  Moundsville.  Just  beyond,  at  the  bend 
which  Cuming  mentions,  was  situated  Round  Bottom,  which  Colonel  Crawford 
surveyed  for  Washington,  in  1771.  Cresap  made  a  tomahawk  claim  to  the  same 
land,  and  there  was  a  long  litigation  over  the  matter,  which  was  not  finally  adjusted 
until  1839,  when  the  suit  was  decided  in  favor  of  Washington's  claim.  See  Wash- 
ington's Works  (Ford  ed..  New  York,  1889),  iii,  pp.  392,  408. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  117 

About  five  miles  and  a  half  below  Little  Grave  creek, 
after  passing  Big  Grave  creek,"  (which  is  as  [99]  inconsid- 
erable as  its  namesake  notwithstanding  its  distinguishing 
adjective)  and  Captina  island  (very  small)  and  after  having 
stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  one  Baker's,  who  answered 
our  questions  with  savage  moroseness,  we  passed  Captina 
creek  on  the  right,  emptying  into  the  Ohio  through  an 
extensive  bottom,  with  three  mills  and  several  settlements 
on  it. 

A  mile  lower,  on  the  left  is  Baker's  station,  which  has  the 
appearance  of  an  old  settlement.'^ 

About  three  miles  below  Captina  creek  we  stopped  on  the 
left  at  Mr.  Cressop's  fine  farm.  He  was  on  the  plantation 
overseeing  his  labourers,  but  Mrs.  Cressop  received  us 
politely.  She  is  young  and  very  handsome,  and  her  em- 
ployments of  rocking  her  infant  in  its  cradle  while  she  exer- 
cised her  needle,  did  not  diminish  any  thing  of  her  beauty 
or  respectability.  She  is  sister  in  law  to  Mr.  Luther  Martin, 
a  celebrated  lawyer  of  Baltimore.^" 

"  On  Big  Grave  Creek  occurred  the  ambuscade  (September  27,  1777)  in  which 
Captain  William  Foreman  and  twenty  Virginia  militiamen  were  slain  on  their 
way  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Wheeling. —  Ed. 

"  The  family  of  Bakers  here  mentioned  is  not  to  be  confused  with  that  of 
Joshua  Baker,  at  whose  settlement  opposite  Yellow  Creek  occurred  the  massacre 
of  Logan's  family.  John  Baker  was  a  Prussian  who  emigrated  to  America  in 
1755,  removed  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  later  to  Dunkard's  Creek,  and  (1781) 
to  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania.  While  there  he  learned  of  a  projected 
Indian  attack  on  the  fort  at  Wheeling,  and  sent  his  son  Henry,  a  youth  of  eighteen, 
to  deliver  the  warning.  Henry  was  captured  by  the  Indians,  carried  to  the  San- 
dusky towns,  and  only  saved  at  the  intercession  of  Simon  Girty.  Upon  his  release 
three  years  later,  he  found  that  his  father  had  again  removed,  and  fortified  Baker's 
Station  near  Captina  Creek.  At  the  close  of  the  Indian  wars,  Henry  Baker  mar- 
ried, and  moving  up  the  river  purchased  a  farm  including  Captina  Island,  where 
Cuming  found  him. —  Ed. 

*°  Mrs.  Cresap  was  a  Miss  Ogle,  whom  Michael  Cresap  had  married  a  few 
years  previous.  Michael  Cresap,  jr.,  was  but  an  infant  when  his  father,  Captain 
Michael  Cresap,  died.  The  latter  is  well-known  in  border  annals.  As  early  as 
1 77 1  he  had  begun  sending  out  squatters  from  his  home  in  Oldtown,  Maryland,  to 
take  up  Ohio  lands;  but  he  himself  did  not  settle  in  this  vicinity  until  the  spring  of 


1 1 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Mr.  Cressop  owns  a  thousand  acres  of  land  here  in  one 
body,  most  of  it  first  rate  bottom,  his  cottage  is  well  furnished, 
and  he  has  a  neat  and  good  garden. 

A  little  lower  we  passed  Woods's  fine  island,  about  a  mile 
long,  and  stopped  just  beyond  it  at  Biddle's  tavern  on  the 
left,  at  the  conflux  of  Fish  creek"  and  the  Ohio,  a  mile  and 
a  half  below  Cressop's.  Biddle  keeps  a  ferry  over  Fish 
creek,  which  is  a  fine  deep  stream,  fifty  yards  wide,  running 
thirty  miles  through  the  country,  but  having  no  mills  on  it 
yet. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Biddle  are  kind  and  hospitable,  decent  in 
their  manners,  and  reasonable  in  their  charges.  He  is  a 
tenant  of  Mr.  Robert  Woods,  whose  house  and  extensive 
improvements  we  had  passed  at  Roland's  ferry  near  Wheel- 
ing. 

Biddle  pays  a  rent  of  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  for 
which  he  has  a  right  to  cultivate  and  build  wherever  he 
pleases  on  Woods's  land,  Mr.  Woods  paying  him  per  valua- 
tion for  the  buUdings.  The  house  he  now  resides  in  cost 
him  six  hundred  dollars,  [100]  which  he  has  been  repaid. 
He  has  cleared  and  cultivated  the  land  for  some*  distance 
round  the  house,  and  he  has  ten  acres  in  com  on  the  island, 
which  contains  fifty  acres  of  the  first  quality  of  soil  above 
the  highest  flood  marks,  the  rest  being  liable  to  inundation. 

At  nine  o'clock,  we  landed  on  the  left  at  John  Wells's, 
seven  miles  from  Biddle's.    It  was  a  fine  night.    Eight  or 

1774,  when  he  immediately  became  involved  in  the  troubles  leading  to  Lord  Dun- 
more's  War.  He  was  commissioned  captain  of  the  local  militia  (June  lo,  1774), 
and  joined  McDonald's  expedition  to  the  Muskingum  towns.  The  following  year 
Cresap  was  again  in  Maryland,  and  raised  a  company  for  the  Continental  army, 
dying  in  New  York  on  his  way  to  join  Washington  at  Cambridge.  Of  his  children 
the  eldest  daughter  married  Luther  Martin,  the  well-known  Maryland  statesman 
and  jurist.  The  youngest  son,  Michael,  settled  on  his  father's  Ohio  lands,  and 
became  a  wealthy  and  respected  citizen. —  Ed. 

"  For  the  incidents  connected  with  the  early  history  of  Fish  Creek,  see 
Harris's  Journal^  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  350,  note  37. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  119 

nine  young  men  who  had  been  reaping  for  Wells  during  the 
day,  were  stretched  out  at  their  ease  on  the  ground,  round 
the  door  of  the  cabin,  listening  to  the  vocal  performance 
of  one  of  their  comrades,  who  well  merited  their  attention, 
from  the  goodness  of  his  voice,  his  taste,  execution,  variety 
and  humour.  We  enjoyed  a  rural  supper,  while  listening 
to  the  rustick  chorister,  then  resisting  our  friendly  host's 
invitation  to  accept  of  a  bed,  and  provided  with  a  light  and 
some  milk  for  next  morning's  breakfast,  we  retired  to  our 
skiff,  threw  out  a  night  line  to  fish,  and  endeavoured  to  com- 
pose ourselves  to  sleep  under  our  awning.  We  were  much 
disturbed  throughout  the  night  by  gnats  and  musquitoes, 
attracted  probably  by  our  light,  before  extinguishing  of 
which,  we  killed  a  winged  animal  of  the  fly  kind,  the  largest 
of  the  species  I  h^d  ever  seen.  It  was  about  three  inches 
long,  with  four  gauzy  wings,  and  a  most  formidable  dis- 
play of  forceps  on  each  side  the  mouth,  like  those  of  a 
scorpion,  for  which  reason  it  might  be  named  not  improperly 
a  winged  scorpion,  though  it  is  probably  not  venomous 
like  it. 

Wells  and  his  wife  are  a  young  couple  who  removed  last 
spring  to  this  place,  from  his  father's,  an  opulent  farmer, 
eighteen  miles  lower 'down  the  river.  They  are  kind  and 
obliging,  and  better  informed  than  one  might  expect,  from 
their  limited  opportunities  of  acquiring  knowledge  in  so 
remote  a  situation.  Mrs.  Wells,  though  a  delicately  formed 
woman,  and  with  [loi]  twin  boys  only  six  weeks  old,  both 
of  whom  she  nurses,  seemed  neither  to  have,  nor  to  require 
any  assistance  in  her  domestick  employments,  yet  both 
plenty  and  order  were  observable  throughout  her  cabin. 
Though  we  were  much  incommoded  here  by  musquitoes, 
yet  I  must  observe,  that  comparatively  with  the  country 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  particularly 
near  the  sea  coast,  in  the  vicinity  of  salt  marshes,  we  found 


1 20  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

very  few  of  those  troublesome  insects,  in  our  descent  of  the 
Ohio,  and  though  we  occasionally  heard  the  unwelcome 
hum  of  a  few  solitary  ones,  we  never  once  saw  or  heard  a 
swarm  of  them:  we  were  however  sometimes  at  night,  when 
sleeping  in  our  skifif,  infested  by  gnats  or  sand  flies,  but  not 
in  such  numbers  as  we  might  have  expected  on  a  river  in  the 
warmest  season  of  the  year. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Fishing  creek  —  Apathy  of  relatives  for  a  dying  man  — 
Long  reach  —  Charles  Wells's  —  Remarkable  petrifaction 

—  Squire  Green's  —  Little  Muskingum  river  —  Marietta 

—  Muskingum  river  —  Ingenuous  mode  of  ferrying  — 
Vestiges  of  Indian  fortification. 

At  half  past  four  on  Wednesday  2  2d  July,  we  loosed  from 
the  bank,  and  drifted  down  the  stream:  The  banks  on  both 
sides  low,  and  the  bottoms  very  extensive. 

At  eight  we  were  abreast  of  Fishing  creek  on  the  left 
seven  miles  below  Wells's.  It  is  about  the  size  of  Fish 
creek,  and  has  a  saw  mill  on  it,  and  at  its  mouth,  one  Morgan 
has  a  farm  beautifully  situated. 

[102]  At  half  past  eight  we  overtook  Frazey's  boat  which 
we  had  passed  on  the  i8th,  and  which  had  floated  past  us 
during  the  night.  The  sick  man  had  had  fits  yesterday, 
yet  neither  his  wife,  his  son,  nor  his  brother  seemed  much 
affected  with  his  situation,  but  spoke  of  it  very  carelessly, 
though  they  did  not  expect  him  to  live  twenty-four  hours 
longer.  He  had  been  some  years  in  a  declining  state,  and 
perhaps  they  thought  that  his  death  would  be  convenient 
both  to  them  and  to  himself. 

Three  miles  and  a  half  below  Fishing  creek,  we  left 
Peyton's  island  on  the  left.  It  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
long,  and  is  cultivated  and  inhabited. —  From  hence,  the 
Long  reach  in  its  whole  length  of  eighteen  miles,  the  islands 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  121 

on  the  left,  the  projecting  points  on  the  right,  and  the  forest 
covered  and  unequal  hills  on  each  side,  form  a  most  beauti- 
ful coup  d'ceil. 

Four  miles  and  a  half  lower,  we  had  passed  Williamson's 
island,  which  is  above  two  miles  long,  and  we  stopped 
just  below  it  on  the  left  bank,  at  Charles  Wells's,  the  sign 
of  the  buck.  He  is  father  to  John  Wells,  at  whose  house 
we  had  supped  last  night:  He  has  a  fine  farm,  good  build- 
ings and  a  large  tract  of  land  which  he  bought  from  a  Mr. 
Caldwell  two  or  three  years  ago.  We  here  got  a  good  dinner, 
the  charge  was  reasonable,  and  the  family  obliging. 

Mr.  Wells  shewed  us  a  remarkable  petrifaction  of  part 
of  a  beech  tree,  found  about  twenty  miles  from  his  house, 
at  the  other  side  of  the  river  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  in  a  north- 
erly direction.  The  tree  was  found  torn  up  by  the  root, 
which  with  part  of  the  trunk,  was  covered  by  a  pool  of 
stagnate  water,  and  completely  petrified,  while  the  part  of 
the  trunk  and  the  limbs  which  were  out  of  the  water,  were 
still  in  their  original  state  of  wood,  but  dry,  and  partly 
rotten.  We  wished  to  purchase  this  petrification  from 
Mr.  Wells,  but  he  was  too  much  of  a  naturalist  himself  to 
part  [103]  with  such  a  curiosity  for  a  sum  which  would  have 
been  a  temptation  to  a  person  of  a  different  taste.  *^ 

^  The  following  account  of  uncommon  petrifactions  from  Georgia  and  Ken- 
tucky, we  copy  from  the  New  York  Medical  Repository,  vol.  ii,  page  415 

"Two  rare  extraneous  fossils  have  been  discovered,  one  in  Georgia  and  the 
other  in  Kentucky.  They  have  both  been  presented  to  Dr  Mitchill.  The  former 
was  brought  by  general  David  Meriwether,  from  a  spring  not  very  distant  from  the 
high  shoals  of  the  river  Apalachy.  It  is  rather  above  the  size  and  thickness  of  a 
Spanish  dollar,  except  that  it  is  somewhat  gibbous  or  convex  on  the  upper  side. 
From  the  centre  proceed  five  bars,  of  four  rays  each,  in  the  direction  of  radial 
lines,  but  connected  by  curves  before  they  reach  the  circumference.  On  the  under 
side  are  five  grooves  or  creases,  corresponding  with  the  five  radial  bars  above,  one 
crease  below  to  four  rays  above.  At  the  centre  beneath  is  a  considerable  concavity, 
corresponding  with  the  convexity  on  the  outside.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
it  is  an  echinus,  or  sea-urchin  of  which  the  species  are  very  numerous,  some  of  them 
nearly  flat,  and  many  are  found  buried  in  the  earth  at  great  distances  from  the 
ocean. — From  the  place  where  this  was  found,  it  was  computed  there  were  enoughi 


122  Fjdrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Passing  Pursley's,  Wilson's  and  Williamson's  islands, 
none  of  them  exceeding  a  mile  in  length,  we  came  to  the 
end  of  Long  reach,  eleven  miles  below  Wells's,  where  in  a 
charming  situation  on  the  left,  is  [104]  a  fine  settlement, 
commanding  a  view  of  the  reach  and  its  islands  upwards.*^ 

Little  and  Rat  islands  joined  by  a  sand  bar,  are  only  half 
a  mile  long  each,  and  just  below  them,  and  three  miles  from 
Long  reach,  is  the  beginning  of  Middle  island,  which  is 
two  miles  and  a  half  long,  with  three  families  settled  on  it. 
Middle  island  creek,  after  running  some  distance  from  its 
source  in  Virginia,  turns  some  mills  and  falls  into  the  Ohio 
at  the  back  of  the  island.  We  went  to  the  right  of  those 
islands,  and  two  miles  below  Middle  island,  we  landed  at 
squire  Green's  tavern  on  the  right,  and  got  supper  and 
beds. 

The  squire  who  derives  his  title  from  being  a  magistrate, 
came  here  from  Rhode  Island  about  nine  years  ago.  He  has 
a  fine  farm,  on  an  extensive  bottom,  and  he  has  two  sons 
settled  about  a  mile  back  from  the  river,  where  they  have  a 
horse-mill  and  a  distillery.  Two  younger  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter, a  sensible  pleasing  young  woman,  live  at  home  with  their 
parents.     One  of  the  sons  was  suffering  under  a  fever  and 


by  estimation,  to  fill  a  bushel.  And  what  was  very  remarkable,  they  were  so 
nearly  alike  that  they  seemed  to  have  been  fashioned  in  the  same  mould,  and  have 
not  been  discovered  in  any  other  place. 

"  The  latter  of  these  rarities  is  from  Kentucky.  One  of  them  had  been  received 
several  years  ago  from  Dr.  S.  Brown,  of  Lexington,  now  of  Orleans;  and  several 
others  since  from  Professor  Woodhouse.  They  have  a  remote  resemblance  to  a 
small  acorn.  At  the  larger  end  is  a  small  projection  resembling  a  broken  foot- 
stock.  At  the  smaller  extremity  are  six  indentations,  or  orifices,  which  may 
be  imagined  to  be  the  decayed  pistils  or  stigmata  of  a  former  blossom.  And  on 
the  sides  are  figured  fine  sharp-pointed  surfaces,  having  a  similitude  to  the  quinque- 
partite  calyx  of  a  plant.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  this  is  of  animal  or  vegetable 
origin.    It  also  may  be  reasonably  supposed  to  be  a  species  of  echinus. 

"  Both  the  specimens  are  silicious  and  insoluble  in  acids." —  Cramer. 

^  This  settlement  failed  to  develop  into  a  permanent  town,  as  there  is  now  na 
important  settiement  at  this  point  on  the  West  Virginia  side  of  the  liver. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  123 

ague,  the  first  time  it  had  been  known  in  the  family  —  a 
proof  of  the  salubrity  of  the  situation,  the  bottoms  and 
flats  throughout  this  country  being  generally  subject  to 
this  harassing  and  enfeebling  disorder,  which  however 
diminishes  in  proportion  as  the  lands  are  cleared.  I  recom- 
mended a  plentiful  use  of  calomel  occasionally,  and  a  strong 
decoction  of  Peruvian  bark,  snake  root  and  ginseng,  during 
all  the  intermissions. 

On  Thursday  23d  July,  we  proceeded  down  the  river  at 
five  A.  M.  passing  three  small  islands  called  the  Three 
Brothers,  between  a  mile  and  two  miles  and  a  half  below 
squire  Green's,  the  two  first  of  which  are  rather  low,  but 
the  third  is  partly  cultivated. —  The  river,  its  banks  and 
islands  are  very  beautiful  hereabouts;  the  hills  having 
gradually  lessened  from  the  south  end  of  the  Long  reach, 
there  are  none  but  [105]  very  moderate  risings  to  be  seen 
from  the  river,  at  twelve  miles  below  squire  Green's,  where 
I  observed  on  the  left  a  saw  for  ship  plank.  Two  miles 
further,  at  half  past  nine,  we  passed  Little  Muskingum 
river  on  the  right.  It  is  about  twenty-five  yards  wide,  and 
has  a  handsome  Chinese  bridge  over  it.  Dewal's  island 
extends  from  hence  two  miles  and  a  half  to  Marietta,  where 
we  landed  on  the  right  at  eleven  o'clock. 

This  town  is  finely  situated  on  both  banks  of  the  Muskin- 
gum, at  the  confluence  of  that  river  with  the  Ohio.  It  is 
principally  built  on  the  left  bank,  where  there  are  ninety- 
seven  houses,  including  a  court-house,  a  market-house,  an 
academy,  and  a  post-ofi5ce.  There  are  about  thirty  houses 
on  the  opposite  bank,  the  former  scite  of  Fort  Harmar, 
which  was  a  United  States'  garrison  during  the  Indian  wars, 
but  of  which  no  vestige  now  remains.  Some  of  the  houses 
are  of  brick,  some  of  stone,  but  they  are  chiefly  of  wood, 
many  of  them  large,  and  having  a  certain  air  of  taste.  There 
are  two  rope  walks,  and  there  were  on  the  stocks  two  ships, 


1 24  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

two  brigs,  and  a  schooner.  A  bank  is  established  here, 
which  began  to  issue  notes  on  the  20th  inst.  Its  capital 
is  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  one  thousand  shares: 
Mr.  Rufus  Putnam  is  the  president." 

The  land  on  which  Marietta  is  built,  was  purchased 
during  the  Indian  war,  from  the  United  States,  by  some 
New  England  land  speculators,  who  named  themselves  the 
Ohio  Company.  They  chose  the  land  facing  the  Ohio, 
with  a  depth  from  the  river  of  only  from  twenty  to  thirty 
miles  to  the  northward,  thinking  the  proximity  of  the  river 
would  add  to  its  value,  but  since  the  state  of  Ohio  has  began 
to  be  generally  settled,  the  rich  levels  in  the  interior  have 
been  preferred,  but  not  before  the  company  had  made  large 
sales,  particularly  to  settlers  from  New  England,  notwith- 
standing the  greatest  part  of  the  tract  [106]  was  broken  and 
hilly,  and  the  hills  mostly  poor,  compared  with  those  farther 
to  the  westward,  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

Marietta  is  principally  inhabited  by  New  Englanders, 
which  accounts  for  the  neat  and  handsome  style  of  building 
displayed  in  it. 

The  Muskingum  is  about  two  hundred  yards  wide,  and 
has  a  rapid  current  of  from  three  to  four  miles  an  hour,  by 
which  a  ferry  boat  is  carried  across  in  something  more  than 
a  minute,  by  a  very  simple  but  ingenious  piece  of  machinery, 
A  rope  of  five  or  six  inches  in  circumference  is  extended 
across  from  bank  to  bank,  and  hove  taught  by  a  windlass: 
two  rollers  play  on  it  fixed  in  a  box  to  each  end  of  which  the 
ends  of  two  smaller  ropes  are  fastened,  whose  other  ends 
are  led  to  the  two  extremities  of  the  ferry  flat,  and  taken 
round  winches  with  iron  cranks,  on  which  the  rope  at  the 
end  of  the  flat  which  is  to  be  foremost  being  wound  up, 
presents  the  side  of  the  flat  to  the  current  at  an  angle  of 

"  For  sketch  of  Rufus  Putnam,  see  Harris's  Journal,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  31 1, 
note  1. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  125 

about  thirty  degrees.  It  is  then  pushed  ofi  —  the  current 
acts  upon  it,  and  it  arrives  at  the  opposite  side  in  the  time 
above-mentioned . 

There  is  a  good  road  from  Marietta,  twelve  miles  up  the 
bank  of  the  Muskingum  to  Waterford,  which  is  a  good  set- 
tlement with  some  mills,  from  whence  it  is  continued  north- 
erly, parallel  to  the  general  course  of  the  river,  to  Zanesville,®^ 
and  the  interiour  of  the  state. 

About  half  a  mile  from  Marietta,  on  the  bank  of  the  Mus- 
kingum, are  some  curious  vestiges  of  Indian  fortification. 
A  parallelogram  of  seven  hundred  by  five  hundred  yards  is 
surrounded  by  a  raised  bank  of  two  or  three  feet  high,  and 
ten  or  twelve  feet  broad,  with  four  entrances  opposite  to 
each  other  on  the  two  longest  sides,  and  opposite  to  the  two 
oblong  platforms  at  diagonal  comers  of  the  parallelogram 
which  are  raised  four  or  five  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
natural  plain.  A  causeway  forty  yards  wide,  and  from  ten 
to  twelve  feet  high,  rounded  like  a  turnpike  [107]  road,  leads 
from  it  to  the  river.  Three  hundred  yards  nearer  the  town 
is  a  mount  resembling  the  monument  at  Grave  creek  and 
about  half  its  height  and  size,  surrounded  by  a  ditch  four 
feet  deep,  through  which  are  two  entrances. 

We  got  a  good  dinner  at  Monsall's  tavern,  where  major 
Joseph  Lincoln,*'  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction, 
politely  called  on  us,  conversed  with  us,  and  gave  us  much 
information ;  and  regretted  that  our  determination  to  descend 

**  2^nesville  on  the  Muskingum  was  laid  out  (1799)  by  Jonathan  Zane  (brother 
of  the  founder  of  Wheeling)  and  John  Mclntyre.  In  1809,  the  seat  of  the  Ohio 
government  was  transferred  thither,  and  Zanesville  grew  rapidly  until  the  state 
capitol  was  removed  to  Columbus,  when  it  declined  slowly,  being  now  a  place  of 
little  importance. —  Ed. 

*  Major  Joseph  Lincoln  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier  of  note,  who  came  out 
with  Putnam's  first  colony  to  found  Marietta.  During  the  Indian  wars  he  lived 
at  Farmer's  Castle;  but  about  1795  engaged  in  business  at  Marietta,  in  which  he 
was  quite  successful,  erecting  in  1807  the  finest  building  in  the  town.  His  death 
occurred  soon  after  Cuming's  visit. —  Ed. 


1 26  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  river  directly  after  dinner  prevented  his  being  favoured 
with  our  company  at  his  house. 

Two  block  houses  still  remain  in  Marietta,  out  of  which 
it  was  very  unsafe  to  go  singly  previous  to  Wayne's  treaty, 
as  the  Indians  were  always  lurking  about,  on  the  watch  to 
shoot  and  scalp,  when  such  opportunities  were  given  them, 
and  in  which  they  were  frequently  but  too  successful. 

CHAPTER  XV 

Trade  wind  —  Vienna  —  Belle-pres  —  Little  Kenhawa  river 
—  Browning's  tavern  —  Blennerhassett's  island,  hand- 
some seat  and  fine  farm. 

At  half  past  two  we  proceeded  from  Marietta,  accom- 
panied by  a  Mr.  Fry,  a  genteel  and  well  informed  young 
lawyer,  from  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  in  search  of  an  establish- 
ment in  some  part  of  this  new  country.  We  had  also  as  a 
passenger,  a  countryman,  by  trade  a  house  carpenter,  who 
resided  in  Virginia,  [108]  about  fifty  miles  lower  down  the 
river,  and  was  returning  home  after  a  trip  up  and  down  the 
Muskingum  as  one  of  the  crew  of  a  keel  boat. 

There  was  a  fresh  S.  W.  wind,  which  is  a  trade  wind  on  the 
Ohio  every  day  during  summer,  generally  commencing  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  ceasing  about  five  in  the 
afternoon,  during  which  a  boat  with  a  sail  could  ascend 
against  the  stream,  from  two  to  five  miles  an  hour,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  force  of  the  wind;  on  which  account  I  would 
recommend  it  to  navigators  ascending  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Ohio  in  the  summer  season,  to  be  provided  with  a  sail, 
as  it  will  accelerate  their  voyage  very  much,  besides  saving 
them  a  great  deal  of  labour. 

It  blew  so  fresh  this  afternoon,  that  even  with  the  aid  of 
our  passengers,  and  a  strong  favourable  current,  we  could 
scarcely  make  any  progress  against  the  wind,  which  also 
occasioned   a  considerable  roughness  of   the  water.     By 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  1 27 

dint  however  of  perseverance  we  advanced  a  little,  passing, 
three  miles  below  Marietta,  Muskingum  island,  two 
miles  long,  and  uncultivated,  and  a  mile  beyond  that. 
Second  island,  a  fine  little  uncultivated  island,  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile  long. 

Two  miles  from  hence,  we  passed  on  the  left,  a  small 
settlement  of  six  or  eight  cabins,  called  Vienna,  which  does 
not  appear  to  be  flourishing;  and  half  a  mile  lower  on  the 
right,  Coles's  tavern,  a  very  good  square  roofed  house;  a 
little  beyond  which  is  Third  island,  a  mile  long,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fine  settlement  of  Belle-pr^s  on  the  right,  and 
a  mile  lower  down.  Little  Kenhawa  river  on  the  left." 
This  is  a  handsome  little  river,  about  eighty  yards  wide, 
vnth  a  placid  stream.  It  has  Wood  county  court  house,  and 
a  tavern,  on  the  right  bank  of  its  embouchure. 

We  landed  on  the  right  at  Browning's  tavern,**  a  good 
house  and  pleasant  situation,  almost  opposite  [109]  the 
Little  Kenhawa.  Several  travellers  sat  down  with  us  to  an 
excellent  supper,  amongst  whom  were  a  merchant  from 
Lexington,  a  travelling  speculator  and  well  digger  from 
French  Grant,  and  a  Mr.  Smith  from  Cincinnati,  who  was 
deputed  by  the  marshal  of  Virginia  to  collect  evidence  for 
the  trial  of  Col.  Burr,  and  his  associates  at  Richmond. 

Leaving  Browning's  tavern  on  Friday,  24th  July,  at  six 

"  The  island  at  the  point  is  still  called  Cole's,  or  Vienna,  Island.  For  sketch 
of  the  Little  Kanawha,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  130,  note  98. 

Belpr^  (contraction  of  Belle  Prairie)  was  the  site  chosen  for  the  second  separate 
community  of  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates,  being  laid  out  1789-90.  The 
first  town  meeting  was  held  in  1802.  Belpr^'s  chief  title  to  fame  is  the  fact  that 
there  was  established,  (about  1795)  the  first  circulating  library  in  the  Northwest 
Territory.  The  son  of  Israel  Putnam  brought  out  a  j)ortion  of  his  father's  library, 
and  formed  a  stock  company  in  which  shares  were  sold  at  ten  dollars  each.  The 
company  was  dissolved  (1815  or  1816),  and  among  the  stockholders  were  distributed 
the  books,  some  of  which  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  neighboring  farmhouses. —  Ed. 

'*  William  Browning  came  to  Marietta  from  Massachusetts  in  1789,  and  shortly 
after  married  a  daughter  of  General  Rufus  Putnam,  settling  at  Belpr^,  where  he 
•died  in  1823. —  Ed. 


128  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

o'clock,  without  our  passengers,  in  twenty  minutes  after,  we 
had  advanced  a  mile  and  three  quarters,  and  landed  on  the 
north  side  of  Blennerhasset's  island,  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
below  the  eastern  end. 

On  ascending  the  bank  from  the  landing,  we  entered  at  a 
handsome  double  gate,  with  hewn  stone  square  pilasters,  a 
gravel  walk,  which  led  us  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  paces, 
to  Mr.  Blennerhasset's  house,  with  a  meadow  on  the  left, 
and  a  shrubbery  on  the  right,  separated  from  the  avenue 
by  a  low  hedge  of  privy-sally,  through  which  innumerable 
columbines,  and  various  other  hardy  flowers  were  displaying 
themselves  to  the  sun,  at  present  almost  their  only  observer. 

We  were  received  with  politeness  by  Mrs.  Gushing,  whose 
husband.  Col.  Gushing,  has  a  lease  of  this  extensive  and  well 
cultivated  farm,  where  he  and  his  family  now  reside  in 
preference  to  his  own  farm  at  Belle-pre. 

The  house  occupies  a  square  of  about  fifty-four  feet  each 
side,  is  two  stories  high,  and  in  just  proportion.  On  the 
ground  floor  is  a  dining  room  of  twenty-seven  feet  by  twenty, 
with  a  door  at  each  end  communicating  with  two  small 
parlours,  in  the  rear  of  each  of  which  is  another  room,  one  of 
which  was  appropriated  by  Mr.  B.  for  holding  a  chymical 
apparatus,  and  as  a  dispensary  for  drugs  and  medicines. 

The  stair  case  is  spacious  and  easy,  and  leads  to  a  very 
handsome  drawing  room  over  the  dining  room,  of  the  same 
dimensions.  It  is  half  arched  round  the  [i  10]  cornices  and 
the  ceiling  is  finished  in  stucco.  The  hangings  above  the 
chair  rail  are  green  with  gilt  border,  and  below  a  reddish 
grey.  The  other  four  rooms  on  the  same  floor  correspond 
exactly  with  those  below,  and  are  intended  either  for  bed 
chambers,  or  to  form  a  suit  with  the  drawing  room. 

The  body  of  the  house  is  connected  with  two  wings,  by 
a  semicircular  portico  or  corridor  running  from  each  front 
comer.  In  one  wing  is  the  kitchen  and  scullery,  and  in  the 
other  was  the  library,  now  used  as  a  lumber  room. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  1 29 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  tasty  and  so  handsome  a  house 
had  not  been  constructed  of  more  lasting  materials  than 
wood. 

The  shrubbery  was  well  stocked  with  flowery  shrubs 
and  all  the  variety  of  evergreens  natural  to  this  climate, 
as  well  as  several  exoticks,  surrounds  the  garden,  and  has 
gravel  walks,  labyrinth  fashion,  winding  through  it. 

The  garden  is  not  large,  but  seems  to  have  had  every 
delicacy  of  fruit,  vegetable,  and  flower,  which  this  fine 
climate  and  luxurious  soil  produces.  In  short,  Blenner- 
hasset's  island  is  a  most  charming  retreat  for  any  man  of 
fortune  fond  of  retirement,  and  it  is  a  situation  perhaps  not 
exceeded  for  beauty  in  the  western  world.  It  wants  how- 
ever the  variety  of  mountain  —  precipice  —  cateract  —  dis- 
tant prospect,  &c.  which  constitute  the  grand  and  sublime. 

The  house  was  finished  in  a  suitable  style,  but  all  the 
furniture  and  moveables  were  attached  by  the  creditors  to 
whom  Mr.  B.  had  made  himself  liable  by  endorsing  Col. 
Burr's  bills,  and  they  were  lately  sold  at  publick  auction  at 
Wood  county  court  house,  for  perhaps  less  than  one  twen- 
tieth of  their  first  cost.*' 


*'  This  description  of  the  Blennerhassett  place  so  soon  after  the  family  were 
forced  to  abandon  the  island,  is  of  especial  interest.  The  story  of  Harman  Blen- 
nerhassett is  one  of  the  best-known  in  Western  annals.  He  was  an  Irish  gentleman 
of  fortune  and  culture,  who  because  of  his  republican  principles  emigrated  to  Ameri- 
ca. In  1798  he  bought  this  beautiful  island  in  the  Ohio,  and  prepared  it  for  a 
home  for  his  family.  Charming  and  accomplished,  he  and  his  wife  occupied  them- 
selves in  beautifying  the  place,  in  generous  and  lavish  hospitality,  and  in  scientific 
investigation.  Unfortunately  Blennerhassett  was  tempted  to  embrace  the  schemes 
of  Aaron  Burr,  and  involved  his  entire  estate  in  that  enterprise.  Late  in  1806 
rumors  of  treason  grew  so  strong  that  Blennerhassett  was  obliged  to  escape  from 
his  island,  which  was  shortly  overrun  with  local  militia,  who  wantonly  destroyed 
much  property  and  insulted  Mrs.  Blennerhassett.  The  place  had  been  left  to  the 
care  of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Cushing,  who,  after  distinguished  service  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, had  removed  to  the  Ohio,  and  having  settled  near  Belpr^,  was  a  neighbor  and 
warm  friend  of  the  Blennerhassetts.  The  fine  mansion  was  burned  in  181 1  by  the 
carelessness  of  negroes,  and  but  little  is  now  left  of  the  estate  which  had  been  laid 
out  with  so  much  care  and  taste.  For  description  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
island,  see  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio. —  Ed. 


130  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

*Mrs.  Gushing  described  Mrs.  B.  as  beautiful  and  highly 
accomplished,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  mother  of  two 
infant  sons  now  with  her  at  Natchez. 

[ill]  After  passing  an  hour  in  this  delightful  spot,  we 
left  it  with  regret  that  such  a  terrestrial  paradise  should  be 
deserted  by  an  owner  who  had  taste  to  blend  judiciously 
the  improvements  of  art  with  the  beauties  of  nature.  Its 
fertility  will  always  ensure  its  cultivation,  but  without  a 
Horace  it  must  cease  to  be  a  Tivoli. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Little  and  Big  Hockocking  rivers  —  Belleville,  and  Mr. 
Wild's  on  Mr.  Avery's  large  farm  —  Devil's  hole  — 
Shade  river  —  Buffington's  island  —  Neisanger's. 

We  dropped  down  the  stream  gently  three  miles,  to  the 
end  of  Blennerhasset's  island,  a  little  beyond  which,  on  the 
Ohio  shore,  we  observed  a  very  good  looking  two  story 
brick  house,  which  as  we  had  been  informed,  is  an  excellent 
tavern  owned  and  kept  by  Mr.  Miles,  but  we  were  not 
tempted  to  stop,  as  we  had  already  breakfasted  on  bread 
and  milk  in  our  skiff.  Two  miles  and  a  quarter  below 
Miles' s  we  passed  Little  Hockhocking  river  on  the  right. 
It  is  about  twenty-five  yards  wide,  and  has  a  wooden  bridge 
across  it,  and  on  its  right  bank  is  a  large  square  roofed  house, 
handsomely  situated. 

A  mile  and  a  half  below  Little  Hockhocking,  we  saw  on 
our  right  a  remarkable  cavern  on  the  side  of  a  craggy  hill, 
and  four  miles  lower,  having  passed  Newbury  and  Musta- 
pha's  islands,  the  latter  of  which  is  above  a  mile  in  length, 
and  partly  cultivated,  we  came  to  big  Hockhocking  river  on 
the  right.®"  It  is  only  about  thirty  yards  wide  at  its  mouth, 
nevertheless  it  is  navigable  for  keels  and  other  small  craft 

•"•  For  the  Hockhocking  River,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p. 
131,  note  99. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  131 

[112]  nearly  seventy  miles,  a  little  above  which  highest  point 
of  navigation,  is  situated  the  flourishing  town  of  New 
Lancaster. 

Two  miles  and  a  half  below  Hockhocking  a  rivulet  called 
Lee's  creek,  puts  in  from  the  Virginia  side,  and  half  a  mile 
further  on  the  same  side,  is  the  village  of  Belleville,  or 
Belle-pre,  finely  situated  on  a  high  bank,  commanding  a 
good  view  of  the  river  both  ways.  There  are  here  only  four 
or  five  cabins  occupied  by  hunters  and  labourers,  and  a 
tolerably  good  wooden  house  owned  by  a  Mr.  Avery  from 
New-London  in  Connecticut,  who  purchased  a  tract  here 
of  five  miles  front  on  the  river,  and  commenced  this  set- 
tlement about  eleven  years  ago,  but  going  largely  into  ship 
building,  he  was  so  unfortunate  in  that  business,  that  in 
consequence  he  is  now  confined  for  debt  in  Wood  county 
gaol. 

A  Mr.  Wild,  from  Durham  in  Connecticut,  who  has  been 
five  years  here,  resides  in  Mr.  Avery's  house,  and  cultivates 
the  farm,  which  is  on  a  handsome  plain  running  back  from 
the  river,  on  which  he  has  this  season  seventy  acres  of  com 
and  fifty  of  wheat,  besides  a  large  proportion  of  meadow. 
He  was  very  civil  to  us,  insisting  with  much  hospitality  on 
our  taking  some  refreshment. 

Last  fall  Mr.  Avery's  bam  with  two  thousand  bushels 
of  grain,  several  stacks  of  grain,  and  a  horse,  grist  and  saw 
mills,  were  bumt  by  incendiaries,  who,  though  known,  could 
not  be  brought  to  justice  for  want  of  positive  proof. 

From  Little  Hockhocking  the  right  bank  is  hilly  and 
broken,  and  the  left  an  extensive  bottom;  both  sides  very 
thinly  inhabited,  to  ten  miles  below  Belleville,  in  the  last 
seven  we  not  having  observed  a  single  [113]  cabin,  though 
the  land  is  level  and  rich.  I  cannot  account  for  the  right 
shore  not  being  settled,  as  it  is  part  of  the  Ohio  Company's 
purchase;  but  the  reason  on  the  Virginia  side  is,  that  the 


132  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

heirs  of  general  Washington  to  whom  that  valuable  tract 
descended  on  his  death,  ask  for  it  no  less  than  ten  dollars 
per  acre,  so  that  it  will  probably  remain  in  its  savage  state 
as  long  as  land  can  be  purchased  cheaper  in  its  neighbour- 
hood, notwithstanding  its  good  situation  and  its  excellent 
quality." 

After  leaving  Belleville  we  saw  several  bald  eagles  hover- 
ing about  us.  They  are  about  the  size  of  large  crows,  and 
when  on  the  wing  have  their  tails  spread  out  in  the  form  of  a 
crescent.*^ 

About  the  middle  of  this  uninhabited  tract,  we  observed 
on  our  right  a  very  remarkable  large  cavern  called  Devil's 
hole :  It  is  in  the  face  of  a  rock  about  half  way  up  a  steep  hill 
close  to  the  river.  About  fifty  rods  further  on  the  same  hand 
we  passed  Shade  river,  which  is  a  considerable  stream,  and 
apparently  very  deep.  During  the  war  with  the  Indians,  a 
detachment  of  the  Kentucky  militia,  ascended  this  river, 
landed  and  destroyed  some  Indian  encampments,  but 
effected  nothing  of  moment. 

Five  miles  below  Shade  river,  we  came  to  Buffington's 
island,  which  is  partly  cultivated  and  is  about  two  miles 
long.  Though  that  on  the  left  is  the  ship  channel,  we 
chose  the  one  on  the  right,  as  it  presented  a  long  narrow 
vista,  which  promised  the  strongest  current:  We  found  it 
however  very  shallow,  but  beautifully  picturesque.  The 
river  above  the  island  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  but 
below,  it  is  contracted  to  about  two  hundred  yards,  and  four 
miles  lower,  it  is  only  one  hundred  and  twenty. 

Though  the  river  continues  narrow,  yet  probably  from 

"  Washington  admonished  his  executors  in  his  will,  not  to  dispose  of  these 
lands  too  cheaply,  and  suggested  a  sale  price  of  ten  dollars  per  acre.  This  particu- 
lar tract  became  the  property  of  six  of  his  grand-nieces,  two  of  whom  (named 
Fitzhugh)  later  settled  in  the  vicinity. —  Ed. 

•*  The  bald  or  white-headed  eagle  {haliaetus  leucocephalus),  the  Americaa 
national  symbol. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  1 3  3 

the  depth  of  its  bed  the  velocity  of  the  current  was  not 
increased  for  a  mile  and  a  quarter  further  to  [114]  Peter 
Neisanger's  fine  farm,  where  we  stopped  at  half  past  seven 
o'clock.'^ 

Fastening  our  skiff  to  a  tree,  we  ascended  the  steep  sloping 
bank  to  the  house,  where  we  were  received  with  cautious 
taciturnity  by  Mrs.  Neisanger,  whose  ungracious  reception 
would  have  induced  us  to  have  proceeded  further,  had  not 
the  evening  been  too  far  advanced  for  us  to  arrive  at  better 
quarters  before  dark;  and  besides  the  state  of  our  stomachs 
rendered  us  insensible  to  an  uncourteous  reception:  We 
determined  therefore  to  make  our  quarters  good,  though 

a  few  minutes  after,  friend  A ,  repented  of  our  resolution, 

on  seeing  a  figure  scarcely  meriting  the  name  of  human  ap- 
proaching him,  where  he  had  gone  alone  in  quest  of  some 
of  the  males  of  the  family.  It  had  the  appearance  of  a 
man  above  the  middle  age,  strong  and  robust,  fantastically 
covered  with  ragged  cloathing,  but  so  dirty  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  distinguish  whether  he  was  naturally  a  white 
or  an  Indian  —  in  either  case  he  equally  merited  the  ap- 
pellation of  savage.  A — — ,  accosted  him  as  lord  of  the 
soil,  but  he  did  not  deign  any  reply,  on  which  he  returned 
to  me,  where  I  was  in  the  boat  adjusting  our  baggage,  to 
consult  with  me  whether  we  had  not  better  proceed  farther; 
but  first  resolving  to  make  one  more  attempt,  we  again 
mounted  the  bank  and  found  two  men  with  rifles  in 
their  hands  sitting  at  the  door,  neither  of  whose  aspects, 
nor  the  circumstance  of  their  being  armed,  were  very 
inviting :  As  however  we  did  not  see  the  strange  apparition 

which  A ,  had  described  to  me,  we  ventured  to  accost 

them. 


•^  Peter  Neisanger  (or  Niswonger)  joined  the  Marietta  colony  in  1790.  He 
was  employed  thereby  as  a  ranger,  and  the  succeeding  year  gave  timely  warning 
to  the  people  assembled  at  a  church  service  of  a  threatened  Indian  raid. —  Ed. 


134  Fjarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  elder  of  the  two  was  Neisanger. —  Though  he  did 
not  say  us  ^^nay^^  to  our  request  of  supper,  his  "yea^^  was 
in  the  very  extreme  of  bluntness,  and  without  either  the 
manner  or  expression  which  sometimes  merits  its  having 
joined  to  it  the  adjective  honest. 

[115]  They  laid  aside  their  rifles,  and  supper  being  an- 
nounced by  the  mistress  of  the  cabin,  we  made  a  hearty 
meal  on  her  brown  bread  and  milk,  while  she  attended  her 
self-important  lord  with  all  due  humility,  as  Sarah  did 
Abraham;  which  patriarchal  record  in  the  scriptures,  is 
perhaps  the  original  cause  of  a  custom  which  I  have  ob- 
served to  be  very  common  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  United 
States,  of  the  wife  not  sitting  down  to  table  until  the  husband 
and  the  strangers  have  finished  their  meal. 

During  supper,  Mr.  Neisanger  gradually  relaxed  from 
his  blunt  and  cautious  brevity  of  speech,  and  we  gathered 
from  him  that  he  had  been  a  great  hunter  and  woodsman,  in 
which  occupation,  he  said  that  one  man  may  in  one  season 
kill  two  hundred  deer  and  eighty  bears. 

He  had  changed  his  pursuit  of  the  wild  inhabitants  of  the 
forest  about  nine  years  ago,  for  an  agricultural  life.  Since 
that  time  he  had  cleared  a  large  tract  of  land,  had  planted 
three  thousand  fruit  trees  on  his  farm,  and  had  carried 
on  a  distillery  of  whiskey  and  peach  brandy,  for  the  first 
of  which  he  gets  seventy-five  cents  per  gallon,  and  for  the 
last  a  dollar. 

After  supper  we  took  leave  of  this  Nimrod  of  the  west 
without  much  regret,  as  our  seats  while  under  his  roof  had 
not  been  the  most  easy  to  us,  and  we  returned  to  our  boat 
with  more  pleasure  than  we  had  done  heretofore. 

We  betook  ourselves  to  rest  on  our  platform,  lulled  to 
repose  by  the  mournful  hooting  of  the  owl,  whose  ill  omened 
note  was  amply  compensated  for  by  the  delightful  melody 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  135 

of  the  red  bird,  who  awoke  us  at  early  dawn  with  his  grateful 
welcome  to  the  returning  day." 

From  hence  to  Clarksburgh  in  Virginia  is  only  seventy- 
five  miles. 

[116]    CHAPTER  XVII 

Old  town  creek,  and  a  floating  mill  —  Take  two  passengers, 
both  curious  characters  —  Laughable  anecdote  of  a 
panick  —  Some  of  the  customs  of  the  backwoodsmen  — 
Their  fondness  for,  and  mode  of  fighting  —  Their  disre- 
gard of  being  maimed,  illustrated  by  an  anecdote  —  Le 
Tart's  falls  —  Graham's  station  —  Jones's  rocks. 

Proceeding  on  Saturday  25th  July  at  5  in  the  morning  — 
at  six  we  were  three  miles  below  Neisanger's,  abreast  of 
Old  town  creek  on  the  right,  and  a  floating  mill  owned  by  an 
Irishman  named  Pickets.  These  kind  of  mills  are  of  a 
very  simple  construction  —  the  whole  machinery  being  in  a 
flat,  moored  to  the  bank,  and  the  stones  being  put  in  motion 
by  the  current.  They  have  but  little  power,  not  being 
capable  of  grinding  more  than  from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels 
of  wheat  per  day. 

We  were  here  hailed  by  two  men  who  offered  to  work 
their  passage  to  the  falls.  We  took  them  on  board,  and  one 
proved  to  be  one  Buffington,  son  to  the  owner  of  Buffing- 
ton's  island,  from  whom  Pickets  had  purchased  his  farm 
and  mill,  and  the  other  was  an  eccentrick  character,  being 
an  old  bachelor,  without  any  fixed  place  of  abode,  residing 
sometimes  with  one  farmer  and  sometimes  with  another,  be- 
tween Marietta  and  Galliopolis,  and  making  a  good  deal 
of  money  by  speculating  in  grain,  horses,  hogs,  cattle,  or 
any  thing  he  can  buy  cheap  and  sell  dear. 

Buffington  was  a  very  stout  young  man,  and  was  going 
to  the  falls  to  attend  a  gathering  (as  they  phrase  it  in  this 

"  The  red-bird  was  either  the  scarlet  tanager  {piranga  rubra),  or  the  cardinal 
grosbeak  {cardinalis  virginianus),  both  of  which  frequent  the  Ohio  shores. —  Ed. 


136  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

country)  at  a  justice's  court,  which  squire  Sears,  who 
resides  at  the  falls,  holds  on  the  last  Saturday  of  every  month: 
He  supposed  there  would  be  sixty  or  seventy  men  there  — 
some  plaintiffs,  and  some  defendants  in  causes  of  small 
debts,  actions  of  defamation,  assaults,  &c.  and  some  to 
wrestle,  fight,  [117]  shoot  at  a  mark  with  the  rifle  for  wagers, 
gamble  at  other  games,  or  drink  whiskey.  He  had  his  rifle 
with  him  and  was  prepared  for  any  kind  of  frolick  which 
might  be  going  forward.  He  was  principally  induced  to 
go  there  from  having  heard  that  another  man  who  was  to 
be  there,  had  said  that  he  could  whip  him  (the  provincial 
phrase  for  beat.)  After  his  frolick  was  ended  he  purposed 
returning  home  through  the  woods. 

He  related  a  laughable  story  of  a  panick  which  seized 
the  people  of  his  neighbourhood  about  two  years  ago,  occa- 
sioned by  a  report  being  spread  that  two  hundred  Indians 
were  encamped  for  hostile  purposes  on  the  banks  of  Shade 
river. 

The  Pickets' s  and  some  others  not  accustomed  to  Indian 
war,  forted  themselves,  and  hired  Buffington  to  go  and 
reconnoitre.  He  hunted,  and,  to  use  his  own  language, 
]ooled  in  the  woods  three  or  four  days;  then  returned  late  in 
the  evening  to  his  own  house,  and  discharged  his  two  rifles, 
giving  the  Indian  yell  after  each,  which  so  terrified  the  party 
forted  at  Pickets' s,  that  the  centinels  threw  down  their 
rifles,  and  ran  into  the  river  up  to  the  belts  of  their  hunting 
shirts.  The  whole  party  followed  —  crossed  the  Ohio  in 
canoes,  and  alarmed  the  Virginia  side  by  reporting  that 
Buffington's  wife,  and  some  others,  who  had  not  been  forted, 
were  shot  and  scalped  by  the  Indians;  but  when  the  truth 
came  out,  they  were  much  ashamed. 

Buffington  deals  in  cattle  and  hogs,  which  he  occasionally 
drives  to  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomack,  where  they  find 
a  ready  market  for  the  supply  of  Baltimore  and  the  sea 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  1 37 

coast.  The  common  price  here  is  about  three  dollars  per 
cwt. 

Two  or  three  years  ago  when  bear  skins  were  worth  from 
six  to  ten  dollars  each,  he  and  another  man  killed  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  bears  in  six  weeks. 

[118]  It  may  not  be  improper  to  mention,  that  the  back- 
woodsmen, as  the  first  emigrants  from  the  eastward  of  the 
Allegheny  mountains  are  called,  are  very  similar  in  their 
habits  and  manners  to  the  aborigines,  only  perhaps  more 
prodigal  and  more  careless  of  life.  They  depend  more  on 
hunting  than  on  agriculture,  and  of  course  are  exposed 
to  all  the  varieties  of  climate  in  the  open  air.  Their  cabins 
^re  not  better  than  Indian  wigwams.  They  have  frequent 
meetings  for  the  purposes  of  gambling,  fighting  and  drinking. 
They  make  bets  to  the  amount  of  all  they  possess.  They 
:fight  for  the  most  trifling  provocations,  or  even  sometimes 
without  any,  but  merely  to  try  each  others  prowess,  which 
they  are  fond  of  vaunting  of.  Their  hands,  teeth,  knees, 
liead  and  feet  are  their  weapons,  not  only  boxing  with  their 
fists,  (at  which  they  are  not  to  be  compared  for  dexterity, 
to  the  lower  classes  in  the  seaports  of  either  the  United 
States,  or  the  British  islands  in  Europe)  but  also  tearing, 
kicking,  scratching,  biting,  gouging  each  others  eyes  out 
by  a  dexterous  use  of  a  thumb  and  finger,  and  doing 
their  utmost  to  kill  each  other,  even  when  rolling  over  one 
another  on  the  ground;  which  they  are  permitted  to  do  by 
the  byestanders,  without  any  interference  whatever,  until 
•one  of  the  parties  gives  out,  on  which  they  are  immedi- 
ately separated,  and  if  the  conqueror  seems  inclined  to 
follow  up  his  victory  without  granting  quarter,  he  is  gen- 
erally attacked  by  a  fresh  man,  and  a  pitched  battle  be- 
tween a  single  pair  often  ends  in  a  battle  royal,  where  all 
present  are  engaged. 

A  stranger  who  had  kept  aloof  during  a  fray  of  this  kind. 


138  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

when  it  was  over,  seeing  a  man  with  the  top  of  his  nose  bit 
off,  he  approached  him  and  commiserated  his  misfortune. 
** Don't  pity  me,"  said  the  noseless  hero,  ''pity  that  fellow 
there,"  pointing  with  one  hand  to  another  who  had  lost 
an  eye,  and  [119]  shewing  the  eye  which  he  held  trium- 
phantly in  the  other.  "^ 

*  This  indeed  is  a  most  lamentable  picture  of  the  depravity  of  human  nature, 
and  might  have  applied  better  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  than  at  present.  But 
our  author  ought  to  have  confined  it  to  a  particular  frontier,  and  to  a  /ew  individuals; 
for  it  is  by  no  means  the  character  of  all  our  backwoodsmen,  nor  are  such  ferocious 
and  more  than  beast-Uke  battles  customary  on  the  borders  of  all  our  frontier  set- 
tlements. Nor  canjwe  believe  even  the  more  profligate  among  the  class  here  spoken 
of,  would  purposely  meet  (unless  indeed  in  an  actual  state  of  warfare)  to  fight,  to 
gouge,  and  to  tear  each  others  flesh  to  pieces  in  the  manner  described;  but  that 
fighting,  gouging,  &c.  might  be  the  consequence  of  such  meetings  and  carousings,  we 
have  little  doubt,  especially  where  whiskey  is  the  common  drink  of  the  country. 
There  are  always  a  few  diabolically  wicked  in  all  societies  of  men,  rude  or  civilized; 
but  it  would  be  unjust  to  libel  a  whole  community  because  of  the  wickedness  and 
profligacy  of  a  /cw. 

It  is  observable  that  European  travellers  frequently  misrepresent  \is  by  giving 
for  a  general  character,  that  which  is  particular;  hence  they  mislead  their  readers 
into  the  most  monstrous  blunders  as  respects  the  true  features  of  our  national 
character,  while  they  do  us  a  greater  piece  of  injustice  than  they  might  have  in- 
tended. As  an  instance  of  this  the  following  quotation  from  ' '  Yolney's  View  of 
the  United  States,*'  will  suffice:  Speaking  of  the  Philadelphia  mode  of  eating  and 
drinking,  he  observes: 

' '  At  breakfast  they  deluge  the  stomach  with  a  pint  of  hot  water,  slightly  impreg- 
nated with  tea,  or  slightly  tinctured,  or  rather  coloiu-ed,  with  coffee;  and  they 
swallow,  almost  without  mastication,  hot  bread,  half  baked,  soaked  in  melted 
butter,  with  the  grossest  cheese,  and  salt  or  hung  beef,  pickled  pork  or  fish,  all 
which  can  with  difficulty  be  dissolved. 

"At  dinner  they  devour  boiled  pastes,  called,  absurdly,  puddings,  garnished 
with  the  most  luscious  sauces.  Their  turnips  and  other  vegetables  are  floated  in 
lard  or  butter.  Their  pastry  is  nothing  but  a  greasy  paste,  imperfectly  baked. 
To  digest  these  various  substances,  they  take  tea,  immediately  after  dinner,  so 
strong  that  it  is  bitter  to  the  taste,  as  well  as  utterly  destructive  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. Supper  presently  follows,  with  salt  meat  and  shell  fish  in  its  train.  Thus 
passes  the  whole  day,  in  heaping  one  indigestive  mass  upon  another.  To  brace  the 
exhausted  stomach,  wine,  nun,  gin,  malt  spirits,  or  beer,  are  used  with  dreadful 
prodigality.' ' 

I  am  a  native  American,  have  passed  through  most  of  the  American  states,  and 
never  drank,  nor  saw  drunk,  at  either  pubUck  or  private  table,  "too  immediately 
after  dinner,' '  nor  never  heard  of  a  practice  of  the  kind  in  any  of  the  states,  hence  I 
think  I  have  reason  to  conclude  Mr.  Volney  erroneous  in  giving  this  as  the  general 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  139 

[120]  Eight  miles  below  Old-town  creek  we  were  carried 
through  Le  Tart's  falls  at  the  rate  of  six  knots  an  hour,  but 
the  rapid,  which  it  ought  to  be  called  more  properly  than 
falls,  is  not  more  than  half  a  mile  long. 

Captain  or  squire  Sears' s  house,  opposite  to  which  we 
landed  our  passengers,  is  very  pleasantly  situated  on  the 
left  shore,  commanding  a  view  of  two  islands  above  the 
falls,  the  nearest  one  in  cultivation, —  the  opposite  shore 
variegated  with  low  hills  and  valleys,  woods,  cultivated 
fields  and  farm  houses,  a  new  water  mill  which  he  is  build- 
ing on  the  right  bank  of  the  rapid,  and  the  river  below, 
taking  a  sudden  bend  from  N.  W.  to  N.  E.  by  N. 

A  mile  and  a  half  lower  down  we  observed  a  large  barge 
on  the  stocks  in  the  woods  on  the  right  bank. 

Four  miles  from  the  falls  we  came  to  Graham's  station, 
which  is  a  fine  populous  settlement,  extending  about  three 
miles  along  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  from  West  creek  to 
Wolfe's  farm  house,  which  is  charmingly  situated  on  a  cliff. 
The  Ohio  side  opposite  is  also  well  settled. 

On  passing  Wolfe's  we  asked  a  man  at  the  door  who 
it  was  that  lived  there:  He  informed  us,  and  [121]  civilly 
invited  us  to  land  and  quench  our  thirst  at  a  fine  spring 
on  the  beach;  but  we  declined  stopping,  as  we  had  filled 
our  water  cask  at  Pickets's  mill. 

There  is  a  ferry  across  the  Ohio  about  the  middle  of 
Graham's  station,  which  connects  a  road  from  Big  to  Little 

custom  of  a  people;  and  think  it  probable  he  drew  his  conclusions  from  the  particu- 
lar practice  of  a  few  families,  in  which  he  might  have  lodged;  and  which  might  have 
altered  their  usual  mode  of  eating  and  drinking,  in  order  to  accommodate  the  sup- 
posed habits  of  this  great  traveller,  he  being  a  native  of  France,  where  it  is  well 
known  coffee  is  much  used  after  dinner.  How  much  more  would  the  publick 
be  benefitted  by  the  remarks  of  travellers  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  countries, 
would  they  divest  themselves  of  their  prejudices,  passions,  and  partialities,  and 
<;onfine  themselves  to  the  relation  of  simple  truths.  Methinks  a  traveller  who  in- 
tends to  publish  his  travels,  ought  to  be  a  philosopher,  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
■word. —  Cramer. 


140  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Kenhawa,  sixteen  miles  to  the  former  and  thirty  to  the  lat- 
ter.»« 

Nine  miles  below  Wolfe's,  Jones's  rocks,  on  a  hill  on  the 
right  have  a  striking  appearance.  They  are  of  freestone, 
bare,  and  heaped  upon  each  other,  resembling  some  of  the  old 
Turkish  fortifications  so  numerous  in  the  Levant. 

On  a  small  bottom  between  them  and  the  river,  in  a  very 
romantick  situation,  is  a  farm,  seven  years  old,  belonging 
to  a  Mr.  Jones,  who  informed  us  that  there  is  a  vein  of  good 
coal  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  his  house. 

This  was  the  first  house  we  had  observed  for  the  last  eight 
miles,  though  the  land  on  the  Virginia  side,  owned  by  one 
Waggoner,  seems  to  be  of  the  first  quality. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

Fine  situations  and  well  inhabited  banks  —  A  gay  party  — 
Slate  and  coal  strata  —  Point  Pleasant  —  River  Ken- 
hawa —  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant  —  Lord  Dunmore's 
campaign  against  the  Indians  —  Indians  justified  —  Rea- 
sons why  there  are  but  few  writers  in  their  favour  — 
Short  account  of  the  causes  of  the  last  Indian  war,  and 
the  settlement  of  Kentucky. 

Two  miles  and  a  half  below  Jones's  is  Leading  creek, 
a  beautiful  little  river  with  high  sloping  banks  on  the  right, 
and  just  below  it  a  Mr.  Kerr  has  a  good  log  house,  and  a 
garden  with  a  handsome  stoccado  [122]  fence,  behind  which 
is  a  small  cleared  farm.  A  vein  of  coal  is  said  to  be  on  the 
Virginia  side  opposite,  not  much  approved  of  by  the  black- 
smiths, probably  because  not  wrought  deep  enough.    Three 

'*  Rev.  William  Graham,  who  had  been  for  twenty-one  years  president  of  the 
first  academy  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  becoming  imbued  with  a  missionary  spirit, 
bought  six  thousand  acres  of  the  Washington  lands  and  attempted  to  found  a 
Presbyterian  colony  thereon.  He  brought  out  several  families  in  1 798,  but  returning 
the  next  year  died  at  Richmond,  whereupon  his  colonists  grew  discouraged  and 
withdrew.  The  place,  however,  has  retained  to  this  day  its  name  of  Graham's 
Station. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  141 

miles  further  on  the  right  is  a  very  good,  new,  two  story 
house,  clapboarded,  and  painted  white,  and  a  large  horse 
mill;  and  half  a  mile  lower  on  the  opposite  shore  is  a  large 
unfinished  house,  lately  purchased  by  a  Mr.  Long  from 
Col.  Clendinning,  who  began  to  build  it  nine  years  ago." 
It  resembles  a  church,  and  is  not  only  a  good  feature  in  the 
prospect,  but  impresses  the  traveller  with  lively  ideas  of  the 
advanced  state  of  population  of  the  neighbouring  country. — 
Close  to  it  is  a  small  hamlet,  or  quarter,  of  a  few  cabins,  the 
whole  in  a  beautiful  situation  on  a  high  bank  commanding 
a  view  of  Eight  Mile  island,  just  below,  and  both  banks  of 
the  river,  which  are  here  well  inhabited  and  very  pleasant. 

Two  miles  lower  is  Six  Mile  island,  very  small,  and  half 
a  mile  beyond  it  on  the  left  is  a  house  most  delightfully 
situated,  commanding  the  whole  vista  of  the  river  seven 
miles  up  to  Leading  creek,  with  the  two  intermediate 
islands.  The  house  is  sheltered  from  the  northern  blasts 
of  winter  by  a  fine  grove  purposely  left  standing,  when  the 
surrounding  farm  was  cleared. 

I  observed  that  in  general,  from  Le  Tart's  falls,  trees 
were  left  standing  very  tastily  in  places  where  they  can  have 
a  good  or  pleasing  effect,  particularly  the  gigantick  beeches 
along  the  margin  of  the  river. 

About  a  mile  lower  down,  we  met  a  large  canoe,  paddled 
against  the  stream  by  five  well  drest  young  men,  while  a 
respectable  looking  elderly  man  steered.  They  had  five 
very  smart  looking  girls  with  them,  and,  from  their  gaiety, 
were  apparently  returning  from  some  jrolick  —  the  epithet 
used  in  this  country  for  all  neighbourly  meetings  for  the 

"  Colonel  George  Clendennin,  a  prominent  pioneer  of  Western  Virginia,  was 
bom  in  Scotland  in  1746.  His  first  services  in  the  West  were  in  Colonel  Lewis's 
army  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  (1774).  Later  he  bought  the  site  of  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  and  laid  out  the  town  (1788).  The  house  on  the  Ohio  which  Cum- 
ing saw  had  been  built  by  Clendennin  in  1796;  the  following  year,  however,  he 
died  at  Marietta. —  Ed. 


142  EiUrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

purpose  of  assisting  each  other  in  finishing  some  domestick 
or  farming  [123]  business,  which  generally  conclude  with 
feasting  and  dancing,  which  sometimes  lasts  two  or  three 
days,  and  is  not  seldom  the  fruitful  source  of  many  a  tender 
and  lasting  connexion. 

Near  this  we  perceived  a  stratum  of  slate  over  one  of  coal, 
but  the  latter  too  much  under  the  level  of  the  river  to  be 
wrought.  The  slate  stratum  extends  several  rods,  and  is 
topped  and  squared  as  if  done  by  art. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  remark  that  all  strata  throughout 
the  whole  of  this  western  country,  have  been  hitherto  found 
to  be  horizontal. 

The  banks  from  hence  four  miles  to  Point  Pleasant  are 
apparently  rich  with  good  bottoms  on  both  sides,  yet  but 
thinly  inhabited. 

Point  Pleasant,  where  we  arrived  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  bank,  at  least  forty 
feet  above  the  common  level  of  the  Ohio,  at  the  conflux  of 
the  Great  Kenhawa  with  that  river.  It  contains  twenty-one 
indifferent  houses,  including  a  court  house  of  square  logs, 
this  being  the  seat  of  justice  of  Mason  county.  The  town 
does  not  thrive  on  account  of  the  adjacent  country  not  set- 
tling so  fast  as  the  opposite  side  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  where 
lands  can  be  bought  in  small  tracts  for  farms,  by  real  set- 
tlers, at  a  reasonable  rate,  whereas  the  Virginia  lands  belong- 
ing mostly  to  wealthy  and  great  landholders,  are  held  at 
four  or  five  times  the  Ohio  price. 

The  river  Ohio  is  here  six  hundred  yards  wide,  and  the 
Kenhawa  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-five,  the  latter  naviga- 
ble about  eighty  miles  to  the  falls. 

On  the  loth  of  October,  1774,  a  battle  was  fought  here  by 
the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  militia  under  general  Lewis, 
against  the  Indians,  who  had  attacked  them  in  great  force, 
but  were  defeated  and  compelled  to  retreat  across  the  Ohio, 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  143 

carrying  their  dead  and  wounded  with  them  according  to 
their  invariable  custom;  as,  like  the  ancient  Greeks,  they 
deem  it  an  [124]  irreparable  disgrace,  to  leave  the  unburied 
bodies  of  their  slain  fellow  warriours  to  the  disposal  of  the 
victorious  enemy.  The  Americans  bought  their  victory  at 
the  expense  of  a  number  of  their  most  active  men,  amongst 
whom  was  Col.  Lewis,  brother  to  the  general,  a  brave  and 
enterprizing  officer.  They  were  buried  near  the  edge  of  the 
river  bank,  which  has  since  mouldered  away,  occasionally 
discovering  their  remains  to  the  present  inhabitants,  who 
have  always  re-interred  them. 

This  was  a  military  station  above  thirty  years  ago.  It  is 
twenty  years  since  it  was  laid  out  for  a  town,  but  it  had  no 
houses  erected  in  consequence  until  after  Wayne's  Indian 
treaty,  it  being  unsafe  before  to  live  outside  the  stoccado. 

Lord  Dunmore,  who  was  then  govemour  of  Virginia,  and 
commander  in  chief  on  the  expedition  against  the  Indians, 
at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  had  penetrated 
by  the  way  of  Wheeling  across  the  Ohio,  to  within  a  short 
march  of  their  principal  settlement,  near  where  Chilicothe 
now  is;  when,  instead  of  following  up  Lewis's  success, 
while  they  were  yet  under  the  influence  of  the  panick  occa- 
sioned by  it,  and  by  his  lordship's  approach  with  the  main 
body  of  the  militia,  and  of  exterminating  them,  or  of  driving 
them  out  of  the  country,  he  received  their  submission  and 
patched  up  a  treaty  with  them,  which  they  observed  no 
longer  than  during  the  short  time  that  he  continued  with  a 
military  force  in  their  country,  for  which  he  was  much  blamed 
by  the  back  settlers  and  hunters.  Humanity,  however, 
must  plead  his  excuse  with  every  thinking  or  philosophick 
mind;  and  volumes  might  be  written  to  prove  the  justice 
of  the  Indian  cause;  but  in  all  national  concerns,  it  has 
never  been  controverted  by  the  history  of  mankind  from 
the  earliest  ages  of  which  we  have  any  record,  but  that  in- 


1 44  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

terest  and  power  always  went  hand  in  hand  to  serve  the 
mighty  against  the  [125]  weak,  and  writers  are  never  want- 
ing to  aid  the  cause  of  injustice,  barbarity  and  oppression, 
with  the  sophistry  of  a  distorted  and  unnatural  philosophy; 
while  the  few  who  would  be  willing  to  espouse  the  rights  of 
the  feeble,  have  not  enough  of  the  spirit  of  chivalry,  to 
expose  themselves  to  an  irreparable  loss  of  time,  and  the 
general  obloquy  attending  an  unpopular  theme:  even  in 
this  so  much  boasted  land  of  liberty  and  equality,  where 
nothing  is  to  be  dreaded  from  the  arbitrary  acts  of  a  king 
and  council  during  a  suspension  of  a  habeas  corpus  law, 
or  the  mandate  of  an  arbitrary  hero  in  the  full  tide  of  vic- 
tory. 

Is  not  popular  opinion  frequently  as  tyrannical  as  star 
chambers,  or  lettres  de  cachets  ? 

The  Indians  north  of  the  Ohio,  under  the  name  of  the 
Five  Nations,  and  their  dependants,  had  been  gradually,  but 
rapidly,  forced  back  more  and  more  remote  from  the  country 
of  their  ancestors,  by  the  irresistible  and  overswelling  tide 
of  population  of  Europeans  and  their  descendants.  They 
at  last  abandoned  all  the  continent  of  America  east  of  the 
great  chain  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  to  the  enlightened 
intruders,  and  besides  that  natural  barrier,  they  added  an 
immense  wilderness  of  nearly  five  hundred  miles  in  breadth, 
west  of  those  mountains,  to  the  space  which  divided  them; 
settling  themselves  in  that  country  which  has  since  become 
the  state  of  Ohio,  having  Lake  Erie  for  its  northern  boun- 
dary, and  the  river  Ohio  for  its  southern.  The  woods  and 
savannahs  to  the  southward  of  that  river  abounded  in 
game,  such  as  buffaloes,  deer,  elk,  bears,  and  innumerable 
smaller  animals,  valuable  for  their  flesh,  skins,  and  furs. 
They  were  tempted  to  make  hunting  excursions  into  this 
country,  during  which  they  frequently  met  with  parties  of 
hunters  of  other  Indian  nations,  called  Chocktaws,  Chicka- 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  145 

saws,  and  Cherokees,  who  resided  far  south  of  it,  but  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  consider  it  as  their  exclusive  prop- 
erty [126]  for  hunting  in,  from  time  immemorial.  Battles 
with  various  success  were  generally  the  consequence  of 
those  meetings.  The  southern  Indians  were  the  most 
numerous  —  the  northern  the  most  warlike. 

Finding  that  they  exhausted  each  other  to  no  purpose, 
by  such  constant  hostility,  necessity  at  last  obliged  them  to 
make  a  peace,  the  basis  of  which  was,  that  the  hunting 
country  should  be  common  to  both  as  such,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  other  people,  and  that  neither  would  ever  settle  on  it 
themselves,  nor  permit  others  to  do  so. 

They  enjoyed  in  quiet  the  uninterrupted  use  of  this  im- 
mense common  forest,  for  many  years  after;  but  the  Vir- 
ginians having  extended  their  settlements  to  the  westward  of 
the  mountains,  the  frontier  inhabitants,  who,  like  the  abo- 
rigines, supported  themselves  principally  by  hunting,  were 
led  in  quest  of  game,  as  far  west  as  the  banks  of  Kentucky 
river,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  Indian  hunting  country. 

On  their  return  to  their  settlements,  the  report  spread 
from  them  to  the  colonial  government,  that  they  had  dis- 
covered a  country  most  abundant  in  game,  and  far  exceeding 
in  natural  fertility  any  of  the  settled  parts  of  Virginia. 

Small  armed  parties  were  sent  out  to  establish  block- 
houses for  the  protection  of  hunters  or  settlers,  while  the 
lands  were  divided  into  tracts  and  granted  or  sold  to  pro- 
prietors, as  suited  the  convenience  of  the  government. 

The  Indians,  indignant  at  being  followed  to  so  remote  a 
part  of  the  continent,  after  the  great  sacrifice  to  peace 
before  made  by  them  in  the  abandonment  of  their  native 
country,  did  their  utmost  to  repel  the  invaders.  The 
northern  tribes  were  the  most  ferocious  and  the  most  exas- 
perated, and  sometimes  alone,  and  sometimes  aided  by 
their  southern  auxiliaries,  carried  on  a  most  bloody  and 


1 46  F,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

exterminating  war  against  all  the  whites  who  had  the 
temerity  to  brave  [127]  their  decided  and  fixed  determination 
to  adhere  to  their  mutual  guarantee  of  their  hunting  grounds. 

Much  blood  was  shed  on  both  sides,  and  many  parties 
of  the  whites  were  cut  off,  but  their  perseverance  at  last 
prevailed,  and  Kentucky  became  one  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

The  negro  who  carried  our  baggage  from  the  boat  to  the 
tavern,  regretted  much  that  we  had  not  arrived  a  little 
earlier  in  the  day,  to  get  some  of  the  people's  money  who 
had  been  assembled  at  a  gathering.  On  our  inquiring 
"how" — he  replied  by  asking  if  we  were  not  play-actors^ 
and  if  we  had  not  got  our  puppetshew  things  in  some  of  the 
trunks  and  boxes  we  had  with  us.  He  had  probably  con- 
ceived this  idea  from  our  having  in  the  skiff  a  large  box  of 
medicines,  which  we  had  taken  in  at  Marietta  for  a  doctor 
Merrit  at  French  Grant,  and  besides  we  had  more  baggage 
than  it  was  usual  for  him  to  see  carried  by  travellers,  who 
had  occasion  to  stop  at  Point  Pleasant. 

Our  landlord's  name  was  John  Allen,  a  young  man,  who 
had  lived  here  since  his  infancy  twenty  years. —  On  a  late 
journey  to  Richmond  he  had  married  a  young  woman  there, 
who  sat  at  supper  with  us,  but  who  seemed  to  wish  to  appear 
rather  above  the  doing  the  honours  of  a  tavern  table.  He 
had  lately  been  chosen  one  of  the  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture for  Mason  county,  and  seemed  fond  of  discussing  poli- 
ticks, but  apparently  more  for  the  sake  of  information,  than 
for  insisting  dogmatically,  according  to  the  prevailing  mode, 
on  any  opinion  of  his  own.  In  short,  he  seemed  to  regret 
the  blind  illiberality  of  the  improperly  self-termed  federalists, 
and  of  their  equally  prejudiced  democratick  antagonists, 
and  seemed  desirous  of  meriting  the  character  of  a  disin- 
terested patriot,  and  a  federal  republican  in  its  real  and 
literal  sense,  without  perhaps  understanding  either  term. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  1 47 

[128]    CHAPTER  XIX 

Galliopolis  —  A  Canadian  boat's  crew  —  Menager's  store 
and  tavern  —  Mons.  and  Madame  Marion  —  A  family 
migrating  from  Baltimore  —  Red  Birds  —  Meridian  creek 
—  Mercer's  and  Green's  bottoms  —  Hanging  rock  — 
Federal  creek  —  Bowden's. 

On  Sunday  26th  July,  we  left  Point  Pleasant,  and  passing 
Great  Kenhawa  river  on  our  left,  and  Galliopolis  island, 
half  a  mile  long  on  the  right,  at  7  we  landed  on  the  Ohio 
side,  at  Galliopolis  four  miles  below  Point  Pleasant. 

We  found  at  the  landing  a  keel  loaded  with  lead  from 
Kaskaskias  on  the  Mississippi;®*  It  was  worked  by  eight 
stout  Canadians,  all  naked,  except  a  breech  clout.  They 
are  the  descendants  of  the  original  French  settlers,  and  they 
resemble  the  Indians  both  in  their  manners  and  customs,  and 
complexion;  which  last  is  occasioned  by  their  being  ex- 
posed naked  to  all  weathers  from  their  infancy;  which  also 
renders  them  very  hardy,  and  capable  of  enduring  much 
fatigue.  They  are  temperate  in  the  use  of  spiritous  liquors, 
while  engaged  in  any  laborious  employment,  but  they  must 
be  fed  with  double  the  quantity  of  food  which  would  suffice 
American  or  English  labourers.  The  meat  which  they  pre- 
fer is  bacon  or  salt  pork,  of  which  they  use  daily  about  four 
pounds  each  man,  besides  bread  and  potatoes. 

They  are  preferred  to  any  other  description  of  people 
for  navigating  the  craft  on  the  rivers  in  this  country,  being 
patient,  steady,  and  trusty,  and  never  deserting  their  boats 
until  their  engagement  is  fulfilled,  which  the  American 
boatmen  frequently  do. 

We  got  an  excellent  breakfast  at  Mr.  Menager's,  a  French 
emigrant,  who  keeps  a  tavern  and  a  store  of  very  well  as- 
sorted goods,  which  he  goes  yearly  to  Baltimore  to  pur- 

**  For  the  history  of  the  French  settlement  of  Kaskaskia,  see  Michaux's  Travels^ 
vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  69,  note  132. —  Ed. 


148  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

chase.  He  is  a  native  of  Franche  [129]  Comte,  and  his 
wife  is  from  Burgundy.  They  are  very  civil  and  obliging, 
and  have  a  fine  family.  It  is  fifteen  years  since  they  arrived 
in  this  country,  together  with  nearly  800  emigrants  from 
France,  of  whom  only  about  twenty  families  now  remain  at 
Galliopolis;  the  rest  having  either  returned  to  France, 
descended  the  Ohio  to  French  Grant,  proceeded  to  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  or  fallen  victims  to  the  insalubrity 
of  the  climate,  which  however  no  longer,  or  only  partially 
exists,  as  it  has  gradually  ameliorated  in  proportion  to  the 
progress  of  settlement.'* 

Menager  has  a  curious  machine  for  drawing  water  from 
his  well  forty  or  fifty  feet  deep,  and  which  will  answer  equally 
well  for  any  depth.  He  got  the  model  from  Mr.  Blenner- 
hasset.  As  I  am  not  mechanick  enough  to  give  an  ade- 
quate description  of  it,  I  shall  only  remark,  that  it  is  equally 
simple  and  ingenuous,  and  saves  much  labour;  the  full 
bucket  flying  up  and  emptying  itself  into  a  small  wooden 
cistern,  while  the  empty  bucket  sinks  at  the  same  time  into 
the  well,  and  that  without  being  obliged  to  work  a  winch  as 
in  the  common  mode,  where  wells  are  too  deep  for  pumps. 

In  Galliopolis  there  are  about  fifty  houses  all  of  wood, 
in  three  long'j^streets  parallel  to  the  river,  crossed  at  right 
angles  by  six  shorter  ones,  each  one  hundred  feet  wide. 
A  spacious  square  is  laid  out  in  the  centre,  on  which  they 
are  now  making  brick  to  buUd  a  court-house  for  Gallia 
county. 

During  a  walk  through  the  town  after  breakfast,  we  were 
civilly  accosted  by  an  old  man  at  the  door  of  the  most  western 
house,  who  invited  us  to  enter  and  rest  ourselves.     He  was 

"  For  a  history  of  the  settlement  of  Gallipolis  and  the  French  Grant,  see  Mi- 
chaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  pp.  182-185. 

Claudius  R.  Menager,  one  of  the  original  emigrants,  had  been  a  baker,  and  made 
use  of  his  skill  both  as  a  merchant  and  tavern-keeper.  He  became  the  richest 
man  in  the  colony,  and  died  much  respected. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  149 

named  Marion,  and  with  his  old  wife,  reminded  me  of  Baucis 
and  Philemon,  or  of  Darby  and  Joan.  They  came  here  with 
the  first  emigrants  from  Burgundy  —  bought  some  town 
lots,  on  which  they  planted  fruit  trees,  and  converted  into 
com  fields,  as  they  could  not  procure  tenants  [130]  nor  pur- 
chasers to  build  on  them.  They  have  no  children  —  they 
seem  much  attached  to  each  other,  and  are  healthy,  and 
content  with  their  situation. —  They  insisted  with  much 
hospitality  on  our  tasting  the  old  lady's  manufacture  of 
cherry  bounce,  before  they  knew  that  we  could  converse 
with  them  in  their  native  tongue;  but,  when  they  found  that 
we  could  not  only  do  so,  but  that  I  could  make  a  subject  of 
conversation  of  their  own  country,  and  even  of  their  own 
province,  from  having  visited  it  long  since  they  had  bid  it  a 
final  adieu  —  it  was  with  difficulty  they  would  permit  us  to 
leave  them,  before  we  had  spent  at  least  one  day  with  them. 
Indeed  I  never  saw  the  amor  patriae  more  strongly  mani- 
fested, than  in  the  fixed  and  glistening  eyes,  which  they 
rivetted  on  my  face,  whilst  I  described  the  present  state  of 
their  provincial  capital  Dijon. 

GaUiopolis  abounds  with  fruit,  to  the  planting  of  which, 
French  settlers  always  pay  great  attention;  but  the  town 
does  not  thrive,  although  very  pleasantly  situated  on  an 
extensive  flat. 

Pursuing  our  voyage  at  ten  o'clock,  half  a  league  below 
GaUiopolis,  we  passed  a  skiff  containing  a  family,  the  head 
of  which  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer  from  Baltimore,  going 
to  Green  river  about  five  hundred  miles  lower  down. 

At  two  o'clock  we  had  rowed  fourteen  miles,  having 
passed  Racoon  island  and  creek  on  the  right,  during  which 
the  bottom  was  so  extensive  on  each  side,  that  we  could  not 
see  the  tops  of  the  river  hills  over  the  banks.  We  were 
here  charmed  with  the  melody  of  the  red  birds  responding 
to  each  other  from  the  opposite  banks,  particularly  on  passing 


150  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Racoon  island.  Our  exercise  having  given  us  an  appetite, 
we  landed  and  dined  under  a  shady  bank  on  the  right, 
opposite  to  a  creek,  which  from  that  circumstance,  and  its 
not  being  noticed  in  our  chart  or  Navigator,  we  named 
Meridian  creek. 

[131]  Here  we  began  to  see  again  the  tops  of  the  low 
river  hills  on  the  right,  but  on  the  left  the  extensive  bottom 
still  continued,  notwithstanding  which  the  settlements  arc 
very  thinly  scattered,  especially  for  the  last  eight  miles. 

At  half  past  two  we  were  abreast  of  Eighteen  mile  creek 
on  the  right,  so  called  from  its  being  that  distance  from 
Point  Pleasant. 

Five  miles  from  where  we  dined  is  Swan  creek,  a  hand- 
some rivulet  on  the  right,  and  Mercer's  bottom,  a  fine  set- 
tlement on  the  left,  and  a  mile  further,  it  is  separated  from 
Green's  bottom  by  the  Little  Guiandot,  a  beautiful  small 
river. 

Green's  bottom  settlements,  which  are  very  fine  and  popu- 
lous, extend  along  the  left  bank  three  miles,  and  a  mile 
beyond  them  the  river  hills  approaching  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  the  bank,  a  remarkable  cliff  called  the  Hanging 
rock,  impends  from  about  half  their  height,  and  they 
again  recede.  On  the  right  opposite  to  Hanging  rock, 
is  a  bank  of  clay  under  which  is  a  substratum  of  fine  potter's 
clay. 

It  is  two  miles  from  Green's  bottom  to  the  next  settle- 
ment. A  gust  threatening,  we  stopped  to  shelter  at  it  -^ 
but  the  house  was  locked  up,  and  no  one  at  home.  Every 
thing  here  testified  to  its  being  an  honest  neighbourhood, 
as  the  smoke-house  was  left  open,  with  a  quantity  of  fine 
bacon  in  it  —  a  crib  was  full  of  com,  and  shirts  and  jackets 
were  left  drying  on  the  garden  fence. 

After  the  shower,  we  went  on  three  miles  to  Miller's 
farm  house  at  the  mouth  of  Federal  creek  on  the  right, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  151 

where  we  landed  and  bought  some  salt  pork  for  stores,  and 
some  milk  for  supper.  Miller  seems  to  be  active  and  indus- 
trious, and  keeps  a  keel  boat  for  freighting  on  the  river, 
but  he  says  he  gets  very  little  encouragement.^"" 

It  was  now  half  past  six,  and  in  an  hour  and  three  quarters 
we  rowed  eight  miles  further,  when  it  coming  [132]  on  dark, 
and  I  not  being  willing  to  lose  the  view  of  any  part  of  the 
river,  we  stopped  at  Joel  Bowden's  tavern  and  farm  on 

the  right,  contrary  to  A 's  wish  of  letting  the  boat  float 

down  the  current  all  night.  Though  we  had  provided  our 
supper,  yet  we  preferred  ordering  one  at  Bowden's,  for  the 
sake  of  whUing  away  a  little  time,  and  gaining  information 
about  the  country. 

He  had  removed  his  family  here  from  Marietta  in  April 
1806,  and  had  to  begin  to  clear  away  the  forest  to  make 
room  for  a  cabin,  and  he  now  has  twelve  acres  completely 
cut,  grubbed  and  smooth,  and  eight  acres  cut,  but  not 
grubbed,  all  planted  and  under  fence,  besides  a  natural 
orchard  of  sugar  maple  of  seven  acres,  out  of  which  he  has 
cleared  every  thing  else  except  about  four  hundred  sugar 
trees,  which  will  be  enough  to  supply  his  family  with  sugar.*"* 

^""  Miller  removed  from  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  Methodists  of  this  part  of  West  Virginia.  Upon  his  petition  a  preacher  was 
sent  to  the  backwoods  settlements  in  1803.  Bishop  Morris,  an  eminent  divine 
of  the  same  denomination,  was  bom  here  in  1798,  and  passed  his  early  years  in 
this  vicinity. —  Ed. 

'"  Would  it  not  be  a  wise  and  prudent  foresight  in  the  present  generation,  in 
order  that  posterity  might  continue  to  enjoy  the  product  of  this  invaluable  tree, 
to  plant  orchards  of  them  on  the  sides  of  untillable  hills  and  other  vacant  grounds 
of  little  or  no  use?  They  might  become  a  source  of  considerable  wealth,  in  the 
course  of  twenty  or  thirty  years,  when  the  country  gets  thickly  populated,  and  the 
trees  made  scarce  from  the  present  plan  of  destroying  them  in  clearing  of  the  lands. 
The  expense  of  setting  out  an  orchard  of  500  or  1000  trees  on  each  plantation, 
might  cost,  say,  twenty-five  cents  each  tree,  together  with  the  interest  of  the  money 
for  thirty  years,  at  which  period  they  would  be  worth  about  one  dollar  per  year 
for  about  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  thereafter.  The  following  observations  on  the 
Maple  tree,  we  copy  from  Dr.  Mease's  "Geological  account  0}  the  United  States:" 

' '  The  genus  acer,  or  maple,  is  useful  for  various  purposes.    The  a.  negundo,  or 


152  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[133]  He  has  also  planted  an  apple  and  peach  orchard 
and  a  nursery,  and  will  cut  six  tons  of  hay  this  year.  Such 
instances  of  industry  and  perseverance  are  frequently  seen 
in  this  country  amongst  the  New  England  settlers,  of  which 
Bowden  is  one,  who  are  generally  remarkably  enterprising, 
and  judiciously  economical.  His  house  not  promising 
superior  accommodation  for  sleep  to  our  skiff,  we  re-em- 
barked after  supper,  and  on  our  platform  enjoyed  undis- 
turbed repose,  until  five  o'clock  next  morning,  when  we 
loosed  from  the  bank,  and  proceeded  at  our  usual  rate  of 
from  three  to  four  miles  an  hour. 


white  or  ash  leaved  maple,  is  much  used  in  cabinet  work,  being  firm  and  smooth, 
takes  a  fine  polish,  and  stain.  The  a.  rubrum,  or  scarlet  maple,  when  sawed  into 
boards,  exhibits  the  most  beautiful  waving  appearance,  and  makes  articles  of  fur- 
niture equal  to  satin  wood.  A  species  of  maple  abounds  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  no 
doubt,  farther  south,  called  bird-eye  maple,  which  also  is  very  beautiful.  But  the 
a.  saccharinum,  or  sugar  maple,  ranks  in  the  first  importance  among  our  forest 
trees.  This  valuable  native  is  peculiarly  dear  to  the  citizens  of  this  country,  as 
it  furnishes  an  article  of  the  first  necessity,  by  Xhe  labour  of  free  men,  and  of  equal 
quality,  to  that  produced  by  the  sugar  cane;  and  the  timber  is  highly  useful  for 
various  mechanical  purposes,  particularly  for  saddle  trees.  From  the  maple  may 
also  be  made  a  pleasant  molasses,  an  agreeable  beer,  a  strong  sound  wine,  and  an 
excellent  vinegar. 

' '  The  following  facts  upon  the  flowing  of  maple-juice,  are  curious,  and  deserve 
investigation. 

* '  The  flowing  of  maple-juice  is  as  completely  locked  up  by  continued  warmth 
as  by  frost,  and  only  flows  by  the  alternate  operation  of  these  agents.  Yet  the 
same  degrees  of  heat,  even  after  frost,  have  not  always  the  same  effect.  Thus,  a 
warm  south  wind  stops  the  flowing  more  than  a  cool  north-west  wind.  To  judge 
from  sensations,  generally  a  bracing  wind  facilitates  the  discharge,  and  a  relaxing 
wind  acts  to  the  contrary.  Whether,  or  how  far,  electricity  may  operate  in  this 
case,  must  be  left  for  future  inquirers  to  determine.  The  juice  flows  for  about 
twenty-four  hours  after  a  frost;  but,  when  a  tapped  tree  has  ceased,  tap  a  new  tree, 
and  it  will  flow  considerably,  as  if  a  certain  quantity  was  discharged  by  the  frost. 
The  juice  flows  from  all  sides  of  the  incision. 

"Cut  a  sugar  maple  early  in  the  morning,  if  the  night  has  been  cold,  and  it 
will  appear  comparatively  dry  and  devoid  of  juice,  in  every  part  of  the  tree.  Cut 
it  a  few  hours  after,  if  the  day  is  moderately  warm,. and  the  juice  will  issue  almost 
in  streams.' ' —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  153 


[134]    CHAPTER  XX 

Big  Guiandot  river  —  Crumps's  farm  —  Inhospitable  re- 
ception —  General  remark  —  Two  hunters  —  Cotton 
plantation,  and  gin  for  cleaning  the  cotton  —  Snakes  — 
Remedy  for  their  bite  —  Great  Sandy  river  —  State 
boundary  —  Hanging  rock. 

Six  miles  below  Bowden's,  we  passed  Big  Guiandot  river 
which  joins  the  Ohio  from  the  left,  and  is  about  eighty  yards 
wide,  having  one  Buffington's  finely  situated  house  and 
farm  on  the  bank  just  below  it.  From  Bowden's  to  Big 
Guiandot,  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  are  well  settled  on  both 
sides.  In  the  next  eleven  miles,  we  passed  three  creeks  on 
the  right,  and  one  on  the  left  hand,  the  second  one  called 
Indian  Guiandot,  only  worth  remarking.  It  coming  on  to 
rain  very  heavy,  we  stopped  here  at  the  end  of  eleven  miles, 
just  above  the  mouth  of  a  fine  little  river  on  the  left  called 
Twelve  Pole  creek,  about  thirty  yards  wide,  with  a  ferry  and 
a  large  scow  or  flat  for  carrying  over  horses  or  cattle.  The 
house  we  stopped  at  was  very  well  situated  on  the  top  of  a 
high  sloping  bank,  and  was  the  residence  of  one  Crumps, 
who  had  removed  here  from  Kentucky,  and  possessed  the 
rich  and  well  cultivated  surrounding  farm.  The  family 
were  at  breakfast,  but  no  place  was  offered  at  the  table  to 
the  wet  travellers,  though  it  was  well  loaded  with  viands, 
which  Mr.  Crumps  apparently  knew  how  to  make  the  best 
use  of  for  fattening,  as  his  corpulency  and  general  appear- 
ance strongly  indicated  a  propensity  to  boorish  gluttony. 
Indeed  we  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  eating  room,  but 
with  a  sort  of  sullen  civility,  were  desired  to  sit  down  in  an 
open  space  which  divides  two  enclosed  ends  from  each  other, 
but  all  covered  with  the  same  roof,  and  which  is  the  usual 
style  of  the  cottages  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  space 
in  the  middle  is  probably  [135]  left  unenclosed,  for  the  more 


1 54  F^arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

agreeable  occupancy  of  the  family  during  the  violent  heats 
of  summer. 

I  have  observed  that  wherever  we  have  stopped  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  we  have  rarely  experienced  that  hospi- 
tality, which  might  be  expected  to  prevail  amongst  people  so 
remote  from  polished  society. 

Two  hunters  sat  down  with  us  after  they  had  finished 
their  breakfast,  and  they  entertained  us  above  an  hour  with 
their  feats  of  deer  and  bear  killing,  in  which  the  one  always 
related  something  more  extraordinary  than  the  other.  At 
last  they  bantered  each  other  to  go  out  and  kill  a  deer. 

It  still  rained  very  heavy,  but  nothing  deterred  by  it, 
they  each  took  their  rifle,  stuck  their  tomahawks  into  the 
belts  of  their  hunting  shirts,  and  accompanied  by  a  fine  dog, 
led  by  a  string  to  prevent  his  breaking  (or  hunting  the  game 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  rifles)  they  set  off  for  the  woods. 

Seeing  some  cotton  regularly  planted  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  on  inquiry,  I  learned  that  from  hence  down 
the  Ohio,  a  good  deal  of  cotton  is  raised,  although  on  ac- 
count of  its  not  standing  the  winter,  it  must  be  planted  every 
year.  Though  the  climate  farther  south  is  more  congenial 
to  it,  it  is  nevertheless  an  annual  throughout  the  continent 
to  the  northward  of  Cape  Florida,  differing  from  the  coun- 
tries between  the  tropicks,  where  I  have  sometimes  seen 
the  same  plants  bear  to  the  seventh  year;  but  that  only  in 
places  where  it  was  neglected,  as  the  common  usage  there 
is  to  replant  every  third  or  fourth  year.  A  few  miles  from 
Crumps's  there  is  a  large  gin  worked  tty  two  men,  which 
can  clean  seven  hundred  pounds  per  day;  the  toll  for  gin- 
ning is  one  eighth  of  the  quantity  cleaned. 

The  copper-head  snake"^  abounds  here,  but  the  rattle- 

'"^  The  copperhead  {trigonocephalus  contortrix),  a  rather  small  venomous  snake, 
gives  no  warning  before  it  bites.  The  name  was,  therefore,  applied  during  the 
War  of  Secession  to  disloyal  Northerners. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  155 

snake  is  scarce.  Crumps  told  us  that  the  bark  of  the  root 
of  the  poplar,  particularly  the  yellow  poplar,  made  into  a 
strong  decoction  and  taken  inwardly,  [136]  while  a  part 
pounded  and  applied  to  the  bite  of  any  snake,  is  an  infallible 
remedy:  And  that  it  is  also  a  most  powerful  alterative,  and 
purifier  of  the  blood. 

There  being  no  prospect  of  the  rain  subsiding,  at  eleven 
o'clock  we  proceeded,  sitting  under  our  awning  and  letting 
the  boat  drop  with  the  current,  which  she  did  about  two 
miles  an  hour. 

At  half  past  twelve  we  passed  Great  Sandy  river  on  the 
left,  four  miles  below  Crumps's.  It  is  about  a  hundred 
yards  wide,  and  is  the  boundary  between  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky; in  the  latter  of  which,  on  the  bank  above  the  con- 
fluence, are  two  large  houses,  one  of  logs  and  the  other 
framed  and  clapboarded,  with  a  sign  post  before  the  door  — ■ 
probably  the  scite  of  some  future  tovm."' 

Three  miles  from  hence  are  two  small  creeks  opposite 
each  other,  and  a  good  brick  house  building  at  the  mouth 
of  that  on  the  left.  Three  miles  and  a  half  further  is  Big 
Storm  creek  on  the  right,  a  mile  and  a  half  below  which, 
we  passed  on  the  left,  an  excellent  house  of  a  Mr.  Colvin, 
nearly  opposite  to  which,  on  the  right  is  a  small  insulated 
mountain  named  Hanging  Rock,  from  its  being  a  bare  per- 
pendicular rock,  from  half  the  elevation  to  the  top. 

This  is  a  very  picturesque  and  agreeable  object  to  the 
eye,  fatigued  with  the  perpetual  sameness  of  the  banks  below 
Point  Pleasant. 

Two  miles  further  on  the  right,  a  little  way  below  Fer- 
guson's sand  bar,  we  observed  a  wharf  or  pier  of  loose  paving 
stones,  and  some  mill  machinery  on  the  bank  above  it  — 

^"  This  was  the  future  town  of  Catlettsburg.  The  first  land  was  surveyed  on 
the  Big  Sandy  in  1770,  when  Washington  laid  out  bounty  lands  for  Captain  John 
Savage's  company,  who  had  served  in  the  French  and  Indian  War. —  Ed. 


156  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  remains  of  a  floating  mill  carried  away  last  winter  by  the 
floods. 

Half  a  mile  below  this  is  a  remarkable  point,  and  fine 
beach  of  coarse  gravel  on  the  right,  and  a  delightfully 
situated  farm  almost  opposite. 

Judge  Boon  has  a  good  house  on  the  left  about  three  miles 
further  down,"*  opposite  to  which  on  the  Ohio  side  is  the 
beginning  of  French  Grant. 

[137]  The  Ohio  which  had  ran  generally  between  the 
south  and  west,  (except  for  about  thirty  miles  near  Le  Tart's 
falls  where  it  takes  a  northerly  course)  had  altered  its  direc- 
tion to  the  north  westward,  from  the  confluence  of  Big 
Sandy  river. 

CHAPTER  XXI 

French  Grant  —  Dreadful  epidemick  disorder  —  Distress- 
ing scene  occasioned  by  it  —  Mons  Gervais  and  Burrs- 
burgh  —  Greenupsburgh  —  Power  of  hunger  proved  — 
Little  Sciota  river  —  Portsmouth  —  Paroquets. 

A  LITTLE  below  judge  Boon's  we  were  hailed  by  a  man 
on  the  Ohio  shore.  We  landed  and  found  him  to  be  a  Mr. 
White,  who  had  put  a  box  of  medicines  into  our  boat  at 
Marietta,  for  doctor  Merrit,  and  having  travelled  on  horse- 
back had  arrived  here  before  us. 

We  now  delivered  it  to  White,  who,  hearing  A call 

me  Doctor,  he  requested  me  to  stop  and  visit  a  Mr.  Hunt, 
who  with  two  of  his  men  and  his  housekeeper,  were  suffer- 
ing under  a  most  severe  epidemick  malady,  which  was  then 
raging  in  and  about  French  Grant,  and  which  doctor  Merrit, 
the  only  medical  man  in  the  settlement,  had  been  attacked 
with  yesterday.    Prompted  by  humanity,   we  walked  to 

"**  This  was  Jesse  Boone,  son  of  the  well-known  pioneer  Daniel,  who  had  re- 
moved to  Missouri  with  his  other  sons  in  1798.  Jesse  Boone  remained  behind, 
was  inspector  of  salt-works  for  West  Virginia,  and  justice  of  the  Kentucky  coimty 
court  for  Greenup.  This  information  is  derived  from  personal  relation  of  Nathan 
Boone,  another  son,  in  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  Draper  MSS.,  6  S  212. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  157 

the  cabin  occupied  by  Mr.  Hunt's  family,  where  we  beheld 
a  truly  distressing  scene.  In  an  Indian  grass  hammock, 
lay  Mr.  Hunt,  in  a  desperate  and  hopeless  stage  of  the  yellow 
fever;  his  skin  and  eyes  of  a  deep  yellow,  and  he  in  a  state 
of  apparent  stupor,  but  still  sensible.  His  housekeeper, 
looking  almost  as  ill,  and  groaning  piteously,  on  a  bed  near 
him.  One  of  his  men  seated  on  a  chair,  in  a  [138]  feeble 
state  of  convalescence;  and  another  standing  by  almost 
recovered,  but  still  looking  wretchedly.  On  the  floor  were 
travelling  trunks,  cases,  books,  furniture,  and  house  uten- 
sils, promiscuously  jumbled  together,  but  all  clean,  as  was 
the  cabin  itself. 

I  could  not  help  contrasting  in  my  mind  Mr.  Hunt's 
present  situation,  at  so  great  a  distance  from  his  connexions, 
from  cultivated  society,  and  from  medical  aid,  with  what 
it  was,  when  he  represented  his  native  state  of  New-Hamp- 
shire in  congress,  or  during  his  travels  in  Europe.  Such 
are  some  of  the  hardships  and  inconveniences  attending  the 
first  settlers  in  a  new  country. ^"^ 

After  approving  what  doctor  Merrit  had  prescribed,  and 
recommending  a  continuance  of  his  regimen  and  advice, 
which  consisted  of  alterative  catharticks  followed  by  ton- 
icks,  we  took  our  leave,  impressed  with  the  opinion  that  Mr. 
Hunt  had  but  a  few  hours  longer  of  existence,  which  also 
seemed  to  be  his  own  opinion,  as  when  I  addressed  a  few 
cheering  words  to  him,  he  only  answered  by  shaking  his 
head  and  closing  his  eyes.    I  supposed  the  rest  of  the  family 

*"  Samuel  Hunt  of  New  Hampshire  was  bom  in  1765,  and  after  studying  law 
travelled  in  Europe  for  three  years.  Upon  his  return  he  was  twice  sent  to  Congress 
from  his  native  state  (1802-05),  ^^^^  declined  the  third  election  in  order  to  convey 
a  colony  to  the  Ohio,  where  he  had  negotiated  a  purchase  in  the  French  Grant  from 
the  owner,  Gervais.  He  engaged  as  a  housekeeper.  Miss  Cynthia  Riggs;  and  came 
out  on  horseback  in  the  fall  of  1806.  Cuming's  fears  were  realized,  for  Hunt 
died  a  few  days  after  he  had  passed.  The  New  Hampshire  colony  emigrated 
later  (1810),  however,  under  the  lead  of  Asa  Boynton,  and  the  name  of  Burrsburgh 
was  changed  to  that  of  Haverhill. —  Ed. 


158  F.arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

would  recover.  White  is  an  intelligent  man,  and  makes 
a  trade  of  sinking  wells,  of  which  he  has  sunk  a  very  fine 
one,  of  forty-five  feet  deep  for  Mr.  Hunt,  near  a  good  two 
story  house  almost  finished. 

French  Grant  contains  twenty-four  thousand  acres,  given 
by  the  United  States  to  some  French  settlers,  who  had  been 
disappointed  in  the  titles  of  their  purchases  at  Galliopolis, 
amongst  whom  a  Mons.  Gervais"®  had  for  his  part  four 
thousand  acres,  on  which  he  planned  a  town,  which  he 
named  Burrsburgh,  in  honour  of  the  then  vice  president: 
but  after  passing  ten  solitary  years  in  a  small  log  cabin,  with 
no  society  except  that  of  his  dog  and  cat,  during  which  time 
he  employed  himself  in  cultivating  his  little  garden,  he  last 
year  sold  his  whole  tract  to  Mr.  Hunt,  except  two  hundred 
and  seventeen  acres,  given  by  him  to  an  [139]  agent  in 
Philadelphia,  as  a  recompence  for  his  having  enabled  him 
to  fulfil  the  engagement  to  government  by  which  he  held 
the  land.  He  now  lives  in  Galliopolis,  and  Mr.  Hunt  has 
changed  the  intended  Burrsburgh  into  a  farm. 

On  our  walk  to  the  boat  I  gave  White  some  directions  for 
himself  as  preventive  to  the  prevailing  disorder,  for  which  he 
thanked  me,  and  asked  our  charge  for  the  freight  of  doctor 
Merrit's  box  in  such  a  manner  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  making  any. 

We  then  crossed  the  river  at  Greenupsburgh,  the  seat 
of  justice  of  Greenup  county,  in  Kentucky.  It  is  laid  out 
for  a  town  within  the  last  year,  but  it  contains  as  yet  only 
one  dwelling  house,  occupied  by  one  Lyons  as  a  tavern, 
where  the  courts  are  held ;  immediately  in  the  rear  of  which 
is  a  strong  and  wretched  dungeon  of  double  logs,  called  the 

***  Jean  Gabriel  Gervais  conducted  the  movement  which  led  to  the  congressional 
grant  for  the  French  of  GallipoUs,  and  received  four  thousand  acres  for  services 
therein.  He  Uved  at  GallipoUs  until  the  final  sale  of  his  lands.  The  income 
resulting  from  the  investment  of  the  funds,  permitted  his  return  (1817)  to  pass  the 
evening  of  his  life  in  his  native  Paris. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  159 

gaol,  with  a  pillory  between.  Little  Sandy  river,  about 
seventy  yards  wide,  flows  into  the  Ohio  just  below  Green- 
upsburgh. 

It  was  almost  dark  when  we  landed  at  Lyons's.  We 
ordered  supper,  during  the  preparation  of  which  Mrs.  Lyons 
requested  my  advice  for  her  husband,  who  had  been  seized 
that  morning  by  the  prevailing  fever.  I  wrote  a  prescrip- 
tion for  him  secundum  artem,  which  I  thought  fully  equiva- 
lent to  our  supper,  but  as  she  gave  us  no  credit  for  it  in  our 
bill,  she  probably  supposed  that  a  travelling  doctor  ought 
to  prescribe  gratis. 

We  had  an  excellent  supper  of  tea,  nice  broiled  chickens, 
and  fine  biscuit,  to  which  travelling  and  rowing  gave  us  good 
appetite,  notwithstanding  we  saw  our  landlady  take  the 
table  cloth  from  under  her  sick  husband's  bed  clothes. 
After  this  let  not  the  delicate  town  bred  man  affect  disgust 
at  the  calls  of  nature  being  satisfied  in  a  manner  he  is  unused 
to,  as  [140]  in  a  similar  situation,  I  will  venture  to  assert,  he 
would  do  as  we  did. 

After  supper,  we  dropped  down  the  stream  about  a  mile, 
then  anchored  with  a  stone  at  the  end  of  a  rope,  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  shore,  and  went  to  sleep. 

Proceeding,  on  the  twenty-eighth,  at  the  dawn  of  day, 
by  half  past  five  we  were  abreast  of  Green  township,  a  small 
hamlet  of  six  or  seven  houses,  on  the  right,  in  French  Grant, 
three  miles  below  Greenupsburgh.  Six  miles  lower,  we 
left  on  the  right.  Little  Sciota  river,  about  thirty  yards  wide. 

HaK  a  mile  further,  on  the  same  side,  we  passed  a  stratum 
of  iron  ore,  and  a  mile  below  that,  a  stony  point  projecting 
and  sloping  downwards,  forming  a  fine  harbour  for  boats, 
when  the  point  is  not  overflowed.  Tiger  creek,  about 
twenty  yards  wide,  and  apparently  navigable  for  boats, 
flows  in  from  the  Kentucky  side,  three  miles  lower  down, 
opposite  to  which,  from  Little  Sciota  river,  the  bottoms  are 


i6o  Karly  Western  Travels-  [Vol.  4 

very  narrow,  being  confined  by  a  picturesque  range  of  low 
rocky  clifiFs  and  mountains,  with  a  few  straggling  pines  over- 
topping the  other  trees  on  their  summits. 

Three  miles  further  we  stopped  at  Portsmouth  on  the 
right,  and  breakfasted  at  John  Brown's  tavern.  Mr.  Brown 
is  a  magistrate  and  keeps  a  store.  After  breakfast,  the  wind 
blowing  too  fresh  up  the  river  for  us  to  make  any  progress 
without  great  labour,  I  walked  to  the  upper  end  of  the  town, 
through  a  straight  street,  parallel  to  the  Ohio,  about  half 
a  mile  long,  on  the  top  of  a  handsome  sloping  bank.  I  re- 
turned by  a  back  street,  which  brought  me  to  the  banks  of 
the  Scioto,  which  river,  running  from  the  northward,  falls 
into  the  Ohio  a  mile  below  Portsmouth,  at  an  angle  of 
thirty-three  degrees,  leaving  only  sufficient  room  between 
the  two  rivers  for  two  parallel  streets,  on  the  one  of  which 
fronting  the  Ohio,  building  lots  of  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  now 
sell  at  fifty  dollars  each.  There  is  a  [141]  narrow  level 
near  a  mile  long  below  the  town  to  the  point  of  junction  of 
the  Scioto  with  the  Ohio,  which  cannot  be  built  on,  as  it  is 
annually  inundated  by  the  spring  floods:  there  is  now  a 
fine  field  of  com  on  it,  and  it  would  all  make  excellent 
meadow.  Mr.  Massie,  of  Chilicothe,  who  is  proprietor  of 
both  it  and  the  town,  asks  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  it, 
though  it  does  not  appear  to  contain  fifty  acres."^ 

*"'  General  Nathaniel  Massie,  bom  in  Virginia  in  1763,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tion while  a  youth,  and  at  its  close  emigrated  to  Kentucky.  There  he  was  soon 
employed  in  the  movement  which  led  to  the  Virginia  Military  Reserve  settlement  in 
Ohio.  When  Virginia  ceded  her  Northwest  claims  to  Congress  (1784)  she  retained 
a  large  tract  between  the  Scioto  and  Miami  rivers  for  bounty  lands  for  her  soldiers. 
Massie  began  the  survey  thereof  in  1788,  and  two  years  later  led  out  the  first  colony 
on  the  site  of  Manchester,  Ohio.  At  the  close  of  the  Indian  wars  Chilhcothe  was 
platted  (1796),  and  became  the  first  capital  of  the  state  of  Ohio.  Massie  was  an 
influential  leader  in  early  Ohio  politics;  he  headed  the  opposition  to  General  St. 
Clair,  and  persuaded  Jefferson  to  remove  him  (1803).  A  strong  Democrat  in 
politics,  his  presence  at  the  constitutional  convention  aided  in  giving  a  democratic 
cast  to  the  new  state  constitution.  For  many  years  he  acted  as  major-general 
of  the  Ohio  militia,  and  one  of  his  last  public  services  was  to  reinforce  Harrison  at 
Fort  Meigs.    His  death  occurred  in  1813. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  161 

Portsmouth  is  in  a  handsome  and  healthy  situation, 
though  rather  too  much  confined  by  the  Scioto's  approach 
to  the  Ohio,  so  far  above  its  confluence  with  that  river.  It 
is  Hkely  to  become  a  town  of  some  consequence,  as  it  is  the 
capital  of  the  county  of  Scioto.  It  is  only  two  years  since 
it  was  laid  out,  and  it  now  contains  twenty  houses,  some  of 
which  are  of  brick,  and  most  of  them  very  good.  I  was 
shewn  the  scite  of  a  court  house  intended  to  be  erected  im- 
mediately. 

Alexandria,  in  sight,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  is 
on  a  high,  commanding  bank,  and  makes  a  handsome  ap- 
pearance from  above  Portsmouth,  to  travellers  descending 
the  river.  It  is  eleven  years  old,  but  it  has  not  thriven,  and 
the  erection  of  the  town  of  Portsmouth  so  near  it,  has  caused 
it  to  decline  rapidly.  It  has  still  however  the  post  of&ce  for 
both  towns. 

There  is  a  remarkable  naked,  round  topped,  rocky  moun- 
tain, on  the  Virginia  side,  opposite  to  Portsmouth,  which 
forms  a  variety  to  the  forest  covered  hills,  which  every  where 
meet  the  eye  of  the  traveller  through  this  western  region. 

We  observed  here,  vast  numbers  of  beautiful  large,  green 
paroquets,  which  our  landlord,  squire  Brown,  informed  us 
abound  all  over  the  country.  They  keep  in  flocks,  and 
when  they  alight  on  a  tree,  they  are  not  distinguishable  from 
the  foliage,  from  their  colour."® 

[142]    CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Scioto  —  Alexandria  —  Colgin's  fine  family  —  Very 
cold  weather  —  Remarks  on  the  sudden  changes  of 
weather  —  Salt  lick  —  Salt  springs  and  works. 

The  Scioto  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  at 
its  mouth,  and  is  navigable  for  large  flats  and  keel  boats 

*"*  Nearly  all  the  early  travellers  speak  of  finding  paroquets  in  the  Ohio  Valley, 
but  they  are  now  only  to  be  found  much  south  of  this  latitude. —  Ed. 


1 62  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

to  Chilicothe,  the  capital  of  the  state,  forty-seven  miles  by 
land,  but  between  sixty  and  seventy  following  the  meanders 
of  the  river;  and  about  a  hundred  miles  further  for  batteaux, 
from  whence  is  a  portage  of  only  four  miles  to  Sandusky 
river  which  falls  into  Lake  Erie  —  and  near  the  banks  of 
which  the  Five  Nations  have  established  their  principal 
settlements,  called  the  Sandusky  towns.  Its  general  course 
is  about  S.  S.  W.  and  except  during  the  spring  floods,  it  has 
a  gentle  current,  and  an  easy  navigation.  About  thirty 
miles  from  its  mouth,  and  eight  or  ten  from  its  left  bank, 
are  some  salt  springs,  which  make  salt  enough  for  the  con- 
sumption of  the  country  for  forty  or  fifty  miles  round."® 

At  three  o'clock  we  left  Portsmouth,  from  whence  to 
Alexandria  is  W.  S.  W.  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  We 
landed  there  and  walked  through  the  town,  which  contains 
only  ten  large  houses  besides  bams  and  other  out  buildings 
—  but,  though  inhabited,  they  are  neglected  and  out  of 
repair,  and  every  thing  bears  the  appearance  of  poverty 
and  decay.  From  hence  to  Chilicothe  the  distance  by  the 
road  is  forty-seven  miles. 

We  delayed  about  an  hour,  and  then  proceeding  down 
the  river,  we  observed  the  hills  on  the  left  to  be  of  conical 
forms,  and  the  river  bottoms  very  narrow.  About  four 
miles  below  Alexandria  we  observed  rather  a  tasty  cottage 
and  improvement  on  the  right.  We  inquired  of  a  gentle- 
manly looking  elderly  man  on  the  bank,  ''who  resided 
there?"  but  [143]  he  uncourteously  not  deigning  a  reply, 
we  were  informed  at  the  next  settlement  that  it  was  a  Major 
Bellisle."" 


'"•  For  the  early  history  of  the  Scioto,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  p.  134,  note  102. —  Ed. 

""  Major  John  Belli  was  a  cosmopolitan,  his  father  being  French,  his  mother 
Dutch,  and  he  himself  bom  (1760)  and  educated  in  England.  He  inherited  estates 
jn  Holland,  but  having  become  imbued  with  repubUcan  principles,  emigrated  to 
America,  bearing  letters  of  recommendation  from  John  Jay.     Belli  landed  at 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  163 

Passing  Turkey  creek  on  the  right,  and  Conoconecq 
creek  on  the  left,  seven  miles  more  brought  us  opposite  to  a 
very  handsome  insulated  mountain,  five  hundred  feet  high, 
on  the  right,  and  passing  Willow  (small)  island  and  bar  on 
the  same  hand,  we  landed  nearly  opposite  to  buy  milk  at  a 
decent  looking  cabin  and  small  farm.  It  was  owned  by  one 
Colgin,  an  Irishman,  who  has  been  several  years  in  Ken- 
tucky, but  only  two  in  his  present  residence.  He  has  only 
eight  acres  cleared,  on  which  he  maintains  himself,  his  wife, 
and  seven  children,  who  are  all  comfortably  and  even  be- 
comingly drest.  There  was  an  air  of  natural  civility,  and 
even  kindness,  in  the  manner  of  this  family,  which  I  had  not 
observed  before  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The  children, 
who  were  all  bom  in  Kentucky,  were  uncommonly  hand- 
some. 

Three  miles  further  we  passed  on  the  right,  Twin  creeks, 
about  a  hundred  yards  apart,  a  mile  beyond  which  we  an- 
chored under  the  Ohio  shore  at  half  past  nine,  and  passed 
under  our  awning  as  cold  a  night  as  I  have  experienced  in 
the  more  northern  climates  in  November.  The  sudden 
and  frequent  changes  from  excessive  heat  to  excessive  cold 
throughout  the  United  States,  are  amongst  the  greatest  incon- 
veniences to  which  the  inhabitants  are  exposed,  and  are 
very  trying  to  delicate  constitutions,  being  the  cause  of 
pulmonary  complaints,  which  are  very  common,  particularly 
among  the  females. 

On  the  clear,  cold  morning,  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  July, 

Alexandria,  Virginia,  in  1783  and  remained  there  nine  years,  forming  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  Washington,  Knox,  and  other  pubhc  men.  Sent  west  on  public 
business  in  1791,  he  remained  as  deputy-quartermaster  of  the  army  until  after 
Wayne's  victory,  when  he  purchased  land  at  the  mouth  of  Turkey  Creek,  and  built 
thereon  the  house  of  which  Cuming  speaks.  It  was  a  large  two-story  frame  build- 
ing, unusually  good  for  the  region,  and  was  named  "Belvidere."  Major  Belli 
married  a  cousin  of  General  Harrison,  and  although  the  founder  of  Alexandria  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  preferred  his  home  at  Turkey  Creek,  where  he  died  in 
1809. —  Ed. 


164  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

we  hauled  up  our  anchor,  and  dropping  down  the  current 
three  miles,  we  landed  at  Salt  Lick  landing,  at  six  o'clock. 

We  walked  about  a  mile  to  the  salt  springs.  The  old 
original  one,  formerly  used  by  the  Indians,  and  another 
lately  opened,  are  on  the  west  side  of  Salt  Lick  [144]  creek 
and  are  owned  by  a  family  of  the  name  of  Beal.  Three 
others  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek,  opened  within  three 
years,  belong  to  a  Mr.  Greenup.  The  salt  is  made  in  three 
furnaces  at  Beal's  springs,  and  in  four  at  Greenup's.  Each 
furnace  contains  fifty  cast  iron  pans,  of  about  twenty  gallons 
each,  and  makes,  on  Greenup's  side,  one  hundred  bushels 
of  salt  per  week,  while  on  Beal's  side  they  make  only  sixty 
bushels  per  week,  in  each  furnace.  The  price  of  salt  at 
the  works  is  two  dollars  per  bushel.  A  furnace  requires 
eight  men  to  do  its  work,  whose  wages  are  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  dollars  per  month  each.  The  water  in  the  old 
spring  is  near  the  surface,  but  the  new  wells  are  sunk  to  the 
depth  of  fifty-five  feet.  The  water  is  wound  up  by  hand  by 
a  windlass,  in  buckets,  and  emptied  into  wooden  troughs, 
which  lead  to  the  furnaces.  The  old  spring  has  two  pumps 
in  it.  Much  labour  might  be  saved  by  machinery  wrought 
either  by  horses,  or  by  the  water  of  the  neighbouring  creek; 
but  in  so  new  a  country  one  must  not  expect  to  find  the 
arts  in  perfection. 

The  proprietors  of  each  furnace  pay  a  yearly  rent  of  from 
three  to  five  hundred  bushels  of  salt  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  soil. 

The  valley  in  which  the  springs  are  is  small,  and  sur- 
rounded by  broken  and  rather  barren  hills,  but  producing 
wood  enough  to  supply  the  furnaces  with  fuel  constantly, 
if  properly  managed. 

There  is  a  wagon  road  of  seventy  miles  from  hence  to 
Lexington,  through  a  country  settled  the  whole  way.  The 
road  passes  the  upper  Blue  Licks,  where  are  also  salt  springs 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  165 

and  furnaces,  not  nearly  however  so  productive  as  these. 
The  Salt  Lick  springs,  which  are  the  strongest  in  this  west- 
em  country,  are  not  half  so  strongly  impregnated  with  salt, 
as  the  water  of  the  ocean,  yielding  only  about  one  pound  of 
salt,  from  sixty  pounds  of  water. 

[145]  What  a  subject  of  admiration  does  it  not  afiford  to 
the  moralizing  philosopher,  that  such  a  provision  should  be 
made  by  all  bountiful  nature,  or  rather  by  nature's  God,  for 
supplying  both  the  intellectual  and  brute  creation,  with  an 
article  so  necessary  to  both,  in  the  heart  of  an  immense 
continent,  so  remote  from  any  ocean. 

There  are  three  or  four  houses  at  the  landing,  which 
was  intended  as  the  scite  of  the  county  town,  but  the  seat 
of  the  courts  has  been  established  four  miles  lower  down 
the  Ohio."^ 

We  breakfasted  on  good  coffee,  biscuit,  meat  and  cheese, 
at  the  house  of  one  M' Bride,  an  Irishman,  who  has  a  fine 
family  of  ten  children  all  living. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Graham's  station  —  Brush  Creek  —  A  family  travelling  on 
a  visit  —  Fine  scenery  —  Massey's  island  —  Manchester 
—  Brookes's  —  Madison  —  MaysviQe  —  Failure  of  three 
towns,  and  an  intended  glass  house. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  proceeded  to  drop  down  the  river. 
The  hills  on  each  side  still  continued  broken,  separate,  and 
pointed,  and  the  bottoms  narrow.  The  appearance  of  the 
timber  since  we  passed  Little  Sandy,  indicated  the  soil  to  be 
not  so  rich  as  above  that  river,  it  being  of  a  much  smaller 
growth. 

About  eight  miles  from  Salt  Lick  we  passed  on  the  left 
a  fine  settlement  of  several  large  farms  and  good  farm 

*"  Vanceburgh,  at  the  mouth  of  Salt  Lick  Creek,  is  now  the  county  seat  for 
Lewis  County;  but  Clarksburgh,  a  village  below,  was  originally  so  chosen. —  Ed. 


1 66  E^arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

houses,  called  Graham's  station  on  Kennedy's  bottom,  and 
three  miles  further  on  the  right  the  new  town  of  Adamsville, 
with  one  very  good  house  and  three  or  four  small  ones, 
finely  situated  at  [146]  the  mouth  of  Brush  creek,  which  is  a 
charming  little  river  about  thirty-five  yards  wide. 

From  hence  we  observed  several  good  farm  houses  in 
fine  situations,  on  the  left,  and  an  extensive  bottom,  well 
settled,  on  the  right,  the  Ohio  being  about  half  a  mile  wide 
between. 

At  Sycamore  creek,  which  is  very  small,  on  the  left,  two 
miles  below  Brush  creek,  is  a  good  house,  finely  situated, 
with  a  ferry  for  the  Ohio.  Here  we  spoke  a  man  of  the 
name  of  May,  who  with  his  wife  and  child,  and  an  aged 
mother,  had  been  seven  weeks  descending  the  Mississippi 
and  ascending  the  Ohio  in  a  skiff;  bound  from  St.  Louis  in 
upper  Louisiana,  to  Pittsburgh,  a  distance  of  thirteen  hun- 
dred miles,  on  a  visit  to  two  of  his  brothers  residing  there. 
They  had  just  landed  to  cook  their  dinner.  I  mention  this 
merely  to  give  some  idea  how  little  the  inhabitants  of  this 
country  think  of  joumies  which  would  seem  impracticable 
to  the  stationary  residents  of  Europe. 

Since  passing  Brush  creek,  I  observed  the  river  hills  to  be 
lower,  their  tops  flatter,  and  the  country  less  broken:  the 
river  too  had  widened  to  the  breadth  of  three  quarters  of  a 
mile,  and  Pennaway's  handsome  brick  house  on  a  fine  farm, 
separated  by  Donaldson's  creek  from  the  widow  Smith's 
farm  house,  the  latter  decorated  with  a  balcony  and  piazza, 
and  beautifully  situated,  with  the  wooded  hills  rising  grad- 
ually behind,  formed  altogether  imagery  worthy  a  good  land- 
scape painter.  From  hence  there  is  also  a  charming  view 
down  the  river,  through  a  vista  formed  by  Massey's  island 
and  the  high  right  bank  on  which  the  town  of  Manchester 
is  placed. 

Four  miles  and  a  half  below  Sycamore  creek,  instead  of 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  1 67 

going  through  the  vista  which  was  open  to  the  eye,  we  kept 
over  to  the  left  shore  in  the  main  channel,  to  the  left  of  a 
small  island,  which  is  joined  at  low  water  by  a  semicircular 
sand  bar  to  Massey's  [147]  island,  a  fine  harbour  being 
formed  by  the  bar  between  the  islands  except  in  inundations 
of  the  river. 

Massey's  island  is  about  two  miles  long,  but  it  is  very  nar- 
row. It  belongs  to  two  owners,  it  is  very  fertile  and  partly 
cultivated. 

At  four  o'clock  we  passed  the  lower  end  of  Massey's 
island,  rowed  over  to  the  right  shore,  and  landed  at  Man- 
chester, a  quarter  of  a  mile  lower  down. 

This  town  has  been  settled  twelve  years,  but  contains 
only  ten  dwelling  houses,  most  delightfully  situated  on  a 
high  plain,  commanding  charming  prospects  of  the  river 
both  above  and  below.  It  is  a  post  town,  and  is  only  three 
miles  distant  from  the  great  state  road  through  the  state 
of  Ohio  to  Lexington  in  Kentucky;  but  it  is  a  poor  place, 
and  not  likely  to  improve,  as  its  vicinity  to  Maysville,  which 
is  only  twelve  miles  lower  where  the  road  crosses  the  river, 
prevents  its  being  frequented  by  travellers. 

We  delayed  but  a  few  minutes  at  Manchester,  and  then 
proceeding,  we  passed  Isaac  creek  with  a  wooden  bridge 
over  it,  on  the  right,  a  mile  below.  A  mile  lower  we  saw 
on  the  left  a  very  handsome  farm  house,  an  orchard  and  a 
fine  farm;  opposite  to  which  on  the  right,  the  river  hills 
approach  close  to  the  bank. 

Two  miles  further  we  passed  Crooked  creek  on  the  left, 
the  hills  now  approaching  on  that  side,  and  receding  on  the 
right,  leaving  a  fine  extensive  bottom  between  them  and  the 
river. 

Cabin  creek  on  the  left  is  a  mile  and  a  half  below  Crooked 
creek,  and  has  a  good  farm  and  handsome  farm  house  at  its 
mouth. 


1 68  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Three  miles  lower,  on  the  left,  is  William  Brookes' s  creek, 
below  which  is  a  floating  mill,  and  Brookes's  good  house  and 
fine  farm  on  a  very  pleasant  point,  where  a  bottom  com- 
mences, which  extends  to  Limestone,  while  the  same  ridge 
of  hills  which  we  passed  below  Isaac  creek,  after  semicircu- 
larly  [148]  bounding  a  deep,  long  and  well  settled  bottom, 
again  approach  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio  opposite 
Brookes's. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  here,  that  in  general,  when 
the  river  hills  approach  the  river  on  one  side,  they  recede 
on  the  other,  so  that  hills  on  one  side  are  opposite  to  bottoms 
on  the  other. 

From  just  below  Brookes's,  we  had  a  fine  view  down  a 
reach,  about  three  miles,  with  Limestone  or  Maysville  in 
sight  at  the  end  of  it,  and  passing  the  straggling  but  pleasant 
village  of  Madison  on  the  left.  Limestone  creek,  and  two 
gun  boats  at  anchor,  we  landed  there  a  little  before  eight 
o'clock. 

We  got  a  good  supper  and  beds  at  Mr.  S.  January's,  who 
keeps  an  excellent  house,  and  is  a  polite,  well  informed  and 
attentive  landlord. 

Next  morning  Thursday  the  30th  July,  we  walked,  ac- 
companied by  our  host  to  the  scite  of  a  formerly  intended 
glass  house,  on  the  bank  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
above  the  town; which  failed  of  being  erected  inconsequence 
of  the  glass  blowers  who  were  engaged  not  having  arrived 
to  perform  their  contract. 

During  our  walk,  we  were  shewn  the  scites  of  no  less  than 
three  projected  towns,  on  the  different  properties  of  Messrs. 
Martin,  Brookes,  and  Cobum,  at  any  of  which,  the  situa- 
tions were  better  than  at  Maysville,  both  in  point  of  room 
for  building,  and  communication  with  the  interior  of  the 
country.    They   however   all    failed,    in  favour  of  Mays- 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  169 

ville ;"'  but  those  attempts  to  establish  towns  on  their  estates, 
will  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  ambitious  and  enterprising 
spirit  which  actuates  the  landholders  in  this  country. 

Maysville  is  the  greatest  shipping  port  on  the  Ohio, 
below  Pittsburgh,  but  it  is  merely  such,  not  being  a  place 
of  much  business  itself,  but  only  serving  as  the  principal 
port  for  the  north  eastern  part  of  the  state  fi49]  of  Kentucky, 
as  Louisville  does  for  the  south  western.  It  has  not  increased 
any  for  several  years,  and  contains  only  about  sixty  houses. 
It  is  closely  hemmed  in  by  the  river  hills,  over  which  the  most 
direct  road  from  Philadelphia  through  Pittsburgh  and  Chili- 
cothe  leads  to  Lexington,  and  thence  through  the  state  of 
Tennessee  to  New  Orleans. 

Several  vessels  of  all  sizes  from  four  hundred  tons  down- 
wards, have  been  built  here,  but  as  none  are  now  going  for- 
ward, I  presume  the  builders  did  not  find  that  business 
answerable  to  their  expectations.  It  is  a  post  town,  the  mails 
from  both  east  and  west  arriving  on  Wednesdays  and 
Saturdays.  Its  situation  causing  it  to  be  much  resorted  by 
travellers,  that  gives  it  an  appearance  of  liveliness  and 
bustle,  which  might  induce  a  stranger  to  think  it  a  place  of 
more  consequence  in  itself  than  it  really  is. 

After  breakfasting  with  our  host,  I  delivered  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Mr.  George  Gallagher,  one  of  the  principal 

"'  The  town  on  the  property  of  Thomas  Brooks  —  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
who  came  to  Kentucky  before  1776  —  was  called  "Rittersville;"  that  of  John 
Cobum  was  first  designated  as  ' '  Madison,'  *  but  later  as  ' '  Liberty.'  * 

Judge  John  Cobum  was  a  Philadelphian  who  came  to  Kentucky  (1784)  on 
the  advice  of  Luther  Martin,  living  at  Lexington  until  1794,  when  he  removed 
to  Mason  County,  and  was  made  judge  of  its  courts.  A  prominent  Democrat,  he 
declined  the  position  of  judge  in  the  territory  of  Michigan;  but  later  accepted  the 
same  for  that  of  Orleans,  holding  court  at  St.  Louis.  Cobum  was  an  ardent 
friend  of  Daniel  Boone,  and  the  act  appropriating  land  for  the  latter  in  his  old  age 
was  passed  at  his  instance.  He  also  served  as  commissioner  (1796)  to  run  the 
boundary  between  Virginia  and  Kentucky;  and  after  holding  many  offices  of  trust, 
died  in  1823. —  Ed. 


1 70  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

merchants,  who  received  me  very  poHtely;  then  leaving  our 
boat  with  our  landlord  to  be  disposed  of,  we  set  out  on  foot 
for  Lexington,  at  half  past  eleven  o'clock. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Delightful  country  —  Beautiful  fields  of  maize  —  Washing- 
ton —  A  philosophical  butcher  —  An  architectural  wagon- 
ner  —  May's  lick  —  Barren  hills  —  Licking  river  —  Dan- 
gerous ford  —  Blue  licks  —  Good  inn  —  Salt  furnaces. 

Our  road  led  over  a  high  hill  but  of  easy  ascent  for  about 
half  a  mile,  with  small  cultivated  spots  here  and  there. 
When  at  the  summit  of  the  river  hills,  we  entered  on  a  fine 
country,  consisting  of  hill  [150]  and  dale,  with  very  exten- 
sive farms,  and  some  of  the  largest  fields  of  Indian  com  I 
had  ever  seen.  Perhaps  no  plantation  has  a  more  beautiful 
appearance  than  a  field  of  maize  in  that  stage  of  vegetation 
in  which  we  now  saw  it.  It  was  in  tassel  and  silk  according 
to  the  country  terms.  The  first  of  these  is  the  flower  or 
blossom,  which  grows  on  the  top  of  the  plant  which  is  from 
eight  to  twelve  feet  high.  It  is  of  a  light  brown  colour  and 
resembles  the  feather  of  a  quill  stripped  down  and  twisted 
round  the  stem,  and  nods  and  trembles  with  the  slightest  air 
of  wind.  The  latter  consists  of  a  few  silky  and  silvery 
threads,  which  issue  from  the  end  of  each  ear,  from  two  to 
three  of  which  grow  at  the  height  of  about  two  thirds  of  the 
stalk.  The  leaves  which  grow  luxuriantly  from  the  stalk 
to  from  a  foot  to  two  feet  long,  are  of  a  deep  and  rich  green, 
and  have  their  ends  generally  bent  down  by  their  own 
weight.  It  is  impossible  to  convey  an  idea  on  paper  of  the 
beauty  of  a  field  of  fifty  or  sixty  acres  in  this  state.  A 
field  of  sugar  canes  in  the  West  Indies,  when  nearly  ripe, 
comes  the  nearest  to  it  in  beauty  and  appearance  of  any 
other   species   of  cultivation   I   am   acquainted   with.    It 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  171 

might  be  deemed  impertinent  to  occupy  the  time  of  the 
American  reader,  in  describing  the  appearance  of  a  field,  to 
the  sight  of  which  he  is  so  accustomed,  but  should  these 
sheets  ever  find  their  way  to  Europe,  it  may  afford  informa- 
tion to  those  who  may  never  have  an  opportunity  of  know- 
ing more  of  the  culture  of  so  useful,  so  noble  and  so  beau- 
tiful a  plant."' 

[151]  About  half  a  mile  further,  we  passed  on  the  right 
the  handsome  house,  spacious  square  bam,  fine  farm  and 
improvenients  of  major  John  Brown,  an  Irishman,  the 
whole  together  indicating  taste  and  opulence. 

A  mile  and  a  half  beyond  this  on  the  left,  is  a  large  and 
remarkably  well  built  brick  house  of  a  Mr.  Blanchard,  well 
situated,  but  left  rather  naked  of  wood. 

The  country  on  every  side  appears  to  be  better  improved 
than  I  have  observed  it  in  any  part  of  America,  and  won- 
derfully abundant  in  grain,  chiefly  Indian  com. 

Four  miles  from  Maysville,  we  entered  the  flourishing 
town  of  Washington,  which  is  laid  out  on  a  roomy  and 
liberal  plan,  in  three  parallel  streets,  containing  only  as 
yet  ninety- six  houses,  mostly  large  and  good  ones.  There 
is  here  a  good  stone  court-house  with  a  small  belfry,  a 
church  of  brick  for  a  society  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  and 
another  of  wood  for  one  of  Anabaptists.    Washington  being 


*"  An  ear  of  com,  in  most  parts  of  Ireland,  England,  and  Scotland,  and  other 
parts  of  Europe,  is  deemed  a  great  curiosity,  and  is  carefully  preserved,  when  it 
can  be  procured,  for  a  number  of  years  by  some  families  as  a  shew  of  a  singular 
production  of  nature,  and  is  as  much  admired  and  as  closely  examined  as  would 
be  here  the  shoe  of  a  Chinese  lady  of  quality.  A  young  Irish  gentleman  tells  me, 
when  a  boy  in  Ireland  he  once  carried  a  corn  cob  fourteen  miles  in  his  pocket  to 
shew  it  to  his  relatives,  who  viewed  it  as  a  great  curiosity  from  America,  and  could 
form  no  just  idea  of  the  manner  of  its  growing,  or  of  its  utility,  but  concluded  it 
grew  like  oats  or  barley,  and  like  these  were  cut  with  sickles  or  scythes.  The  cob 
had  been  previously  stripped  of  its  grains  by  as  many  individuals,  each  taking  one, 
as  a  sight  of  singular  curiosity  for  their  families  and  neighbourhood. —  Cramer. 


172  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  capital  of  Braken  county,  and  in  the  heart  of  a  very 
rich  country,  is  a  thriving  town,  and  will  probably  continue 
to  be  so,  notwithstanding'  it  is  without  the  advantage  of 
any  navigable  river  nearer  than  the  Ohio  at  Maysville."* 

Mr.  Lee  a  merchant  here,  to  whom  I  had  letters  of  intro- 
duction was  polite  and  obliging."*  We  got  an  excellent 
dinner,  at  Ebert's  tavern;  after  which  we  hired  two  horses 
through  Mr.  Lee's  interest,  as  it  is  difficult  for  strangers  to 
procure  horses  on  hire  throughout  this  country.  We  engaged 
one  at  half  a  dollar,  and  the  other  at  three  quarters  of  a  dollar 
a  [152]  day;  the  last  from  a  Mr.  Fristoe,  a  small  man  of 
sixty-eight,  married  to  his  second  wife  of  thirty-two  years 
of  age.  She  is  a  contrast  to  her  husband  in  size  as  well  as 
years,  she  being  taU  and  fat,  and  weighing  two  hundred  and 
forty  pounds.  She  is  two  years  younger  than  his  youngest 
daughter  by  his  first  wife.  He  has  grand  and  great  grand- 
children bom  in  Kentucky.  He  is  a  Virginian,  and  was 
once  a  man  of  large  property,  when  he  resided  on  the  banks 
of  one  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Chesapeak,  where  he 
loaded  the  ship  in  which  captain,  afterwards  consul  O'Brien 
was  captured  by  the  Algerines.  By  unfortunate  land  job- 
bing in  Kentucky,  he  has  lost  his  property,  and  is  now  a 
butcher  in  Washington. 

He  is  truly  a  philosopher,  contrasting  his  former  with  his 
present  situation,  with  much  good  humour  and  pleasantry. 

At  three  o'clock,  we  left  Washington  on  horseback,  and 
travelled  on  a  good  road  through  a  well  improved  country, 
four  miles  to  the  north  fork  of  Licking  river,  which  we  crossed 

*"  For  a  sketch  of  the  town  of  Washington,  see  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  vol. 
iii  of  this  series,  p.  — ,  note  37.  Cuming  is  mistaken  in  making  it  the  seat  of 
Bracken  instead  of  Mason  County. —  Ed. 

"*  For  biographical  sketch  of  General  Henry  Lee,  see  Michaux's  Travels, 
vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  36,  note  25. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  173 

by  a  wooden  bridge  supported  by  four  piers  of  hammered 
limestone,  with  a  transverse  sleeper  of  timber  on  each  which 
supports  the  sill.  The  bridge  is  seventy-seven  yards  long, 
and  only  wants  abutments  to  be  very  complete.  A  wag- 
onner  had  stopped  his  wagon  on  it  to  measure  its  propor- 
tions. He  told  me  that  he  had  contracted  to  buUd  a  similar 
bridge  over  the  south  fork  of  Licking  at  Cynthiana,  forty 
miles  from  hence,  which  is  larger  than  the  north  fork.  It 
may  seem  strange  that  a  wagonner  should  be  employed  as  a 
builder,  but  it  is  common  throughout  the  United  States,  par- 
ticularly at  a  distance  from  the  sea  coast,  for  one  man  to 
have  learned  and  wrought  at  two,  and  even  sometimes  three 
or  four  different  mechanical  professions,  at  different  periods 
of  his  life. 

[153]  The  country  still  continued  fine,  but  not  quite  so 
well  improved,  to  Lee's  creek  mill,  three  miles  and  a  half 
beyond  the  north  fork  of  Licking.  The  mill  was  now 
stopped  for  want  of  water  in  the  creek,  which  is  an  incon- 
venience to  which  the  whole  of  the  western  country  is  liable, 
the  brooks  and  small  rivers  generally  failing  during  the 
summer. 

Half  a  mile  further  we  came  to  a  small  post  town,  called 
May's-lick,  containing  only  eight  or  ten  houses,  irregularly 
scattered  on  the  side  of  a  hill.  We  here  stopped  to  feed 
our  horses,  and  then  proceeded  four  miles  through  a  good 
natural,  but  indifferently  improved  country  to  Clark's  ex- 
cellent mill  on  Johnston's  fork  of  Licking,  which  is  a  fine 
mill  stream,  and  falls  into  Licking  river,  several  miles  lower 
down.  The  road  on  each  side  the  fork  is  very  bad,  the  hills 
being  extremely  steep. 

After  passing  Clark's  mill,  we  found  the  country  gradually 
worse  cultivated,  less  inhabited,  and  at  last  a  continuation 
of  barren  hills,  bearing  very  little  besides  wild  pennyroyal, 


1 74  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

with  which  the  air  is  strongly  perfumed,  and  a  few  stunted 
shrubs  and  trees,  there  being  nothing  to  promote  vegetation, 
but  gravel  and  loose  stones  of  every  variety  —  marble, 
limestone,  flint,  freestone,  and  granate,  among  which  the 
limestone  is  the  most  predominant.  The  road  also  was 
very  bad  for  the  three  or  four  miles  next  to  the  Blue  salt 
licks  on  Licking  river,  which  is  eight  miles  from  Clark's 
mill. 

On  the  road  we  met  a  Mr.  Ball  and  another  man,  both 
armed,  going  in  search  of  four  negro  slaves,  who  had  ran 
away  from  him,  and  two  of  his  neighbours  near  Boons- 
borough,"'  seven  had  ran  away,  but  three  had  been  appre- 
hended that  morning. 

We  saw  from  the  eminences  on  the  road,  the  smoke  of 
the  salt  furnaces,  when  three  miles  distant  from  them. 

[154]  In  fording  the  Licking,  which  is  a  fine  river  about 
eighty  yards  wide,  we  kept  rather  too  high,  and  got  into  such 

deep  water  that  mine  had  to  swim  some  yards,  while  A , 

who  was  behind  me  took  advantage  of  my  mistake,  and 
kept  lower  down,  so  that  his  horse  was  only  up  to  the 
saddle  skirts. 

Some  negro  salt  labourers  on  the  bank,  mischievously 
beckoned  and  called  to  us  towards  them,  enjo)dng  our  em- 
barrassment, but  taking  care  to  get  out  of  sight  when  we 
got  firm  footing  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  with  them. 

We  found  Mrs.  Williams  an  obliging  hostess,  and  her 
sister  Miss  Howard,  a  very  agreeable  woman;  they  favoured 


"'  Boonesborough  was  one  of  the  first  settlements  of  Kentucky,  laid  out  in  1775 
by  the  pioneer  for  whom  it  was  named.  It  was  the  capital  of  the  Transylvania 
Company,  and  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  noted  events  of  early  Kentucky  his- 
tory, particularly  during  the  siege  of  1778.  Boonesborough  declined  in  importance 
after  the  Indian  wars;  in  1810  it  was  a  mere  hamlet,  and  since  that  but  the  site  of  a 
farm.  For  further  details  see  the  excellent  monograph  of  Ranck,  Boonesborough 
(Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  16;  Louisville,  1901). —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  175 

us  with  their  company  at  supper,  and  were  both  much  better 
bred,  and  better  informed  than  most  of  the  tavern  ladies 
we  had  seen  since  we  left  Pittsburgh. 

There  were  some  other  ladies  and  some  children  in  the 
house  from  Washington,  who  were  here  for  the  benefit  of 
drinking  the  waters  of  the  salt  spring,  which  are  esteemed 
efficacious  in  some  disorders.  They  are  frequented  by 
people  from  different  parts  of  the  state,  as  both  a  cure  and 
antidote  for  every  disorder  incident  to  the  human  frame. 
I  believe  them  to  be  perfectly  neutral :  They  are  impregnated 
with  sulphur,  and  smell  and  taste  exactly  like  the  bUge 
water  in  a  ship's  hold,  of  course  they  are  very  nauseous. 
They  act  sometimes  as  a  cathartick,  and  sometimes  as  an 
emetick,  but  without  causing  either  griping,  or  sickness  of 
the  stomach. 

There  are  seven  furnaces  wrought  here,  but  the  water 
which  lies  at  the  surface  is  not  near  so  strong  as  that  at  the 
salt  lick  near  the  Ohio,  each  furnace  here  making  only  about 
twenty-five  bushels  of  salt  per  week.  The  Blue  lick  salt 
is  much  whiter  and  handsomer  than  the  other,  but  it  only 
sells  at  the  same  price.  Each  furnace  rents  at  about  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  n,^ 

[155]  These  licks  were  much  frequented  by  buffaloes  and    ) 
deer,  the  former  of  which  have  been  destroyed  or  terrified 
from  the  country.    It  is  only  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  since    , 
no  other  except  buffaloe  or  bear  meat  was  used  by  the  in-    1 
habitants  of  this  country."'  J 

"^  The  Lower  Blue  Licks,  which  Cuming  here  describes,  were  discovered  in 
1773  by  a  party  of  surveyors  led  by  John  Finley.  It  was  a  well-known  spot  in  early 
Kentucky  annals,  and  Daniel  Boone  was  here  engaged  in  making  salt  when  cap- 
tured by  Indians  (1778).  The  most  famous  event  in  its  history  was  the  disastrous 
battle  fought  here,  August  19,  1782,  in  which  the  flower  of  Kentucky  frontiersmen 
lost  their  lives.  See  Young,  "Battle  of  Blue  Licks"  in  Durrett,  Bryanfs  Sta- 
tion (Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  12;  Louisville,  1897).  The  Lower  Blue  Licks 
later  became,  as  Cuming  indicates,  a  favorite  watering-place  for  the  vicinity. —  Ed. 


176  Fidrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Nicholasville  —  Assembly  of  birds  —  Shafts  to  salt  spring 

—  Millersburgh  —  Capt.  Waller  —  State  of  the  country  at 
first  settlement  —  Massacre  of  the  American  militia  un- 
der Col.  Todd  by  the  Indians  —  Astonishing  plenty  of 
game  —  Mode  of  killing  the  buffaloe  —  Their  extirpation 

—  Canes  —  Paper  mill  —  Johnston's  —  North  branch  of 
Elkhom  —  General  Russel. 

Friday,  twenty-first  July,  we  arose  early  and  proceeded 
on  our  journey.  At  about  two  miles  from  Blue  Licks  we 
passed  a  tavern,  a  double  log  gaol  and  a  court  house  in  a 
very  solitary  situation,  dignified  with  the  name  of  Nicholas- 
ville, it  being  the  seat  of  the  county  courts  of  Nicholas 
county.  In  one  spot  on  the  road  were  two  crows,  two  doves, 
four  red-birds,  and  four  partridges,  assembled  as  if  in  coun- 
cil. They  all  took  wing  at  our  approach  except  the  par- 
tridges, which  in  this  country  are  wonderfully  abundant, 
and  very  tame.  They  will  walk  quietly  to  the  side  of  the 
road  and  look  at  the  passing  traveller  with  innocent  confi- 
dence. • 

There  were  but  one  or  two  houses  in  the  next  six  miles, 
which  are  through  a  stony  defile  between  barren  hills.  The 
country  then  becomes  better  inhabited  and  the  soil  gradu- 
ally improves  to  Millersburgh,  a  village  of  about  thirty 
houses,  thirteen  miles  from  Blue  Licks."*  There  is  on  the 
road  an  old  shaft  where  an  attempt  was  made  to  come  at  a 
salt  spring  [156]  without  success,  but  a  little  further  they 
succeeded  in  finding  a  very  strong  one,  which  was  rendered 
useless  by  some  springs  of  fresh  water  flowing  into  the  salt, 
at  such  a  depth  as  to  render  the  turning  them  away  if  not 
impracticable,  at  least  too  expensive. 

We  breakfasted  at  Capt.  Waller's  tavern,  at  Millers- 

"*  For  sketch  of  MUlersburgh,  see  F,  A.  Michauz's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this 
series,  p.  198,  note  38. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  ijj 

burgh."'  Our  host  was  an  obliging  and  sensible  man,  and 
possessed  of  good  general  information  relative  to  this  coun- 
try: he  was  not  destitute  of  some  particular  also.  We  col- 
lected from  him,  that  when  he  first  arrived  in  Kentucky, 
about  twenty-three  years  ago,  there  was  not  a  house  between 
Limestone  and  Lexington,  and  at  the  latter  place  were  only 
a  few  log  cabins  under  the  protection  of  a  stoccado  fort.— ^ 
That  there  was  not  half  a  mile  of  the  road  between  the  two 
places  unstained  by  human  blood. — That  in  1782,  on  the 
heights  above  the  Blue  Lick,  2000  Indians  drew  1500 
Americans  into  an  ambush,  by  partially  exposing  themselves, 
and  so  tempting  the  latter  to  attack  them.  The  American 
commander,  Col.  Todd,  and  six  hundred  of  his  men  were 
killed,  and  the  whole  party  would  have  been  destroyed  had 
the  remainder  not  saved  themselves  by  throwing  themselves 
into  the  Licking  and  gaining  the  opposite  bank,  to  which 
the  Indians  did  not  chuse  to  pursue  them,  satisfied  with  the 
slaughter  they  had  made.""  He  said  that  buffaloes,  bears 
and  deer  were  so  plenty  in  the  country,  even  long  after  it 
began  to  be  generally  settled,  and  ceased  to  be  frequented 
as  a  hunting  ground  by  the  Indians,  that  little  or  no  bread 
was  used,  but  that  even  the  children  were  fed  on  game;  the 
facility  of  gaining  which  prevented  the  progress  of  agricul- 
ture, until  the  poor  innocent  buffaloes  were  completely 
extirpated,  and  the  other  wild  animals  much  thinned:  And 
that  the  principal  part  of  the  cultivation  of  Kentucky  had 
been  within  the  last  fifteen  years.  He  said  the  buffaloes 
had  been  so  numerous,  going  in  herds  of  several  hundreds 

*"  Captain  John  Waller  was  one  of  the  party  from  Virginia  who  were  associated 
with  Simon  Kenton  (1775-76)  in  laying  out  a  station  near  Maysville,  which  later 
was  abandoned  because  of  danger  from  Indians.  He  had  been  a  noted  border- 
fighter  and  frontiersman  during  the  early  history  of  Kentucky.  In  1792  he  repre- 
sented Bourbon  County  in  the  first  legislature. —  Ed. 

"°  The  numbers  as  given  here  are  greatly  exaggerated.  About  sixty  Americans 
were  slain,  and  the  attacking  party  was  not  over,  at  the  most,  six  hundred. —  Ed. 


178  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

together,  that  [157]  about  the  salt  licks  and  springs  they  fre- 
quented, they  pressed  down  and  destroyed  the  soil  to  a 
depth  of  three  or  four  feet,  as  was  conspicuous  yet  in  the 
neighbourhoodjof  the  Blue  Lick,  where  all  the  old  trees 
have  their  roots  bare  of  soil  to  that  depth. — Those  harmless 
and  unsuspecting  animals,  used  to  stand  gazing  with  ap- 
parent curiosity  at  their  destroyer,  untU  he  was  sometimes 
within  twenty  yards  of  them,  when  he  made  it  a  rule  to  select 
the  leader,  which  was  always  an  old  and  fat  female.  When 
she  was  killed,  which  rarely  failed  from  the  great  dexterity 
of  the  hunter,  the  rest  of  the  herd  would  not  desert  her,  until 
he  had  shot  as  many  as  he  thought  proper.  If  one  of  the 
common  herd  was  the  first  victim  of  the  rifle,  the  rest  would 
immediately  fly.  The  males  sometimes  exceeded  a  thous- 
and pounds  weight,  but  the  females  were  seldom  heavier 
than  five  hundred.  He  said  that  the  whole  country  was 
then  an  entire  cane  brake,  which  sometimes  grew  to  forty 
feet  high,  but  that  the  domestick  stock  introduced  by  the 
settlers  have  eradicated  the  cane,  except  in  some  remote 
and  unsettled  parts  of  the  state.  He  described  that  plant, 
as  springing  up  with  a  tender  shoot,  like  asparagus,  which 
cattle  are  very  fond  of. 

Millerstown  has  been  settled  about  ten  years,  but  it  is  not 
thriving,  though  it  seems  well  calculated  for  a  manufacturing 
town,  from  its  situation  on  the  bank  of  Hinckson's  fork  of 
the  Licking,  which  is  a  good  mill  stream,  and  over  which 
there  is  a  wooden  bridge. 

Several  strata  of  lead  ore,  parallel  to  the  surface,  and 
from  three  inches  to  a  foot  in  thickness,  have  been  discov- 
ered in  the  town,  and  neighbourhood;  and  about  a  year  ago, 
a  Mr.  Elliot,  erected  a  furnace  and  made  sixteen  tons  of 
pure  lead,  but  for  want  of  funds  to  prosecute  the  business 
to  effect,  he  was  obliged  to  cease  exertions,  which,  with 
proper  encouragement,  might  have  been  a  source  of  very 


1807-1809]  Cuming s  Tour  to  the  West  1 79 

extensive  traffick  to  [158]  this  state,  independent  of  the 
keeping  in  it  a  considerable  sum  of  the  circulating  medium 
which  is  now  paid  for  that  useful  metal,  with  which  it  is 
supplied  from  St.  Genevieve  in  Upper  Louisiana,  at  a  profit 
of  one  hundred  per  cent."* 

From  Millersburgh  we  travelled  about  seven  miles,  over 
a  fine  soil,  but  not  much  improved  on  account  of  the  uncer- 
tainty of  titles.  We  then  turned  out  of  the  main  road  into 
a  path  through  the  woods,  which  we  were  informed  would 

shorten  our  road  two  miles  to  Baylor's  mills,  where  Mr.  A 

had  business,  but  after  losing  ourselves  in  a  labyrinth  of 
cross  paths,  and  riding  five  miles  instead  of  two,  we  at  last 
found  ourselves  at  Col.  Garret's  fine  stone  house  and  exten- 
sive farm,"^  where  a  young  lady  from  an  upper  window, 
gave  us  directions,  by  the  aid  of  which  we  soon  found  Mr. 
Baylor's. 

We  had  to  regret  the  absence  from  home  of  young  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Baylor,"'  as  Mr.  A.  was  personally  acquainted  with 
them,  and  we  had  promised  ourselves  a  musical  feast,  from 
the  performance  of  Mrs.  B.  on  the  piano  forte,  on  which 
instrument  she  is  said  particularly  to  excel.  They  not  being 
at  home,  we  declined  the  invitation  of  a  younger  Mr.  B.  to 
alight,  but  taking  a  glass  of  milk  and  water  on  horseback, 
we  proceeded  across  Stoner's  fork  of  the  Licking,  towards 
Lexington,  leaving  the  town  of  Paris  about  three  miles  on 
the  left."* 


'^  The  lead  vein  near  Millersburg  was  but  small;  it  was  worked  again  to  some 
effect  after  the  War  of  Secession. —  Ed. 

^^  This  was  doubtless  the  residence  of  General  James  Garrard,  a  Virginian 
who  had  emigrated  to  Kentucky  directly  after  the  Revolution,  and  was  second 
governor  of  the  state,  1 796-1804.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Bourbon  Coimty  in 
1822.—  Ed. 

^^  Daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  Weidner,  of  Pittsburgh. —  Cramer. 

"*  For  sketch  of  Paris,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  37,  note 
29. —  Ed. 


i8o  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Our  ride  now  was  on  a  charming  road  finely  shaded  by 
woods,  with  now  and  then  a  good  farm,  five  miles  to  John- 
ston's tavern,  where  we  fed  our  horses  and  got  some  refresh- 
ment. Capt.  Johnston  is  most  comfortably  settled  on  a 
fine  farm,  having  a  son  married  and  settled  on  an  equally 
good  one,  on  one  side,  and  a  daughter  equally  well  situated 
on  the  other.  He  and  his  wife  are  good  looking,  middle 
aged  people,  [159]  and  both  in  their  persons,  and  in  every 
thing  around  them,  have  the  appearance  of  being  possessed 
of  the  happy  otium  of  life.  He  had  a  quantity  of  last  year's 
produce  in  his  granaries,  and  his  wheat,  his  com  and  tobacco 
fields,  with  a  large  tract  of  meadow,  were  smiling  in  luxu- 
riant abundance  around  him. 

The  country  continued  fine,  and  more  cultivated  for 
the  next  six  miles,  hill  and  dale  alternately,  but  the  hills  only 
gentle  slopes:  we  then  ascending  a  chain  of  rather  higher 
hills  than  we  had  lately  crossed,  called  Ash  ridge,  we  passed 
a  small  meeting  house  on  the  right,  and  Mr.  Robert  Carter 
Harrison's  large  house,  fine  farm  and  improvements  on 
the  left,  separated  by  the  north  branch  of  Elkhom  river 
from  Jamison's  mill.  We  then  crossed  that  river,  and  soon 
after,  on  a  fine  elevated  situation,  we  passed  general  Russel's 
house  on  the  right,  with  a  small  lawn  in  front  of  it,  and  two 
small  turrets  at  the  comers  of  the  lawn  next  the  road. 
The  tout  ensemble  wanting  only  the  vineyards  to  resemble 
many  of  the  country  habitations  of  Languedoc  and  Pro- 
vence. I  have  little  doubt,  but  at  some  future  period,  that 
feature  will  also  be  added  to  it,  as  in  this  climate  and  soil 
grapes  would  grow  most  luxuriantly;  when  therefore  the 
population  of  this  country  becomes  adequate  to  the  culture 
of  the  vine,  it  will  assuredly  not  be  neglected. 

Overtaking  a  gentleman  on  horseback,  who  had  been 
overseeing  some  mowers  in  a  meadow,  he  joined  company 
with,  and  civilly  entered  into  conversation  with  us.    It  was 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  181 

general  Russel  who  had  been  riding  round  his  farm.  We 
discussed  various  topicks  respecting  the  natural  and  im- 
proved state  of  the  country,  and  the  present  state  of  political 
afifairs.  He  had  just  returned  from  Richmond  in  Virginia, 
where  he  had  been  during  the  examination  of  Col.  Burr, 
before  the  grand  jury.  He  evinced  much  good  sense,  in- 
telligence, candour  and  liberality  in  his  opinions,  [160]  not 
only  with  regard  to  that  extraordinary  man,  who  has  caused 
such  a  ferment  throughout  the  union,  but  on  the  various 
other  subjects  which  we  conversed  on.  He  obligingly 
accompanied  us  about  five  miles,  as  an  afternoon's  ride,  and 
at  parting,  he  gave  us  a  friendly  and  polite  invitation  to  visit 
him  at  his  cottage,  on  our  return."' 

He  described  the  well  where  he  has  his  spring  house,  as  a 
great  natural  curiosity;  there  being  a  grotto  under  it  which 
terminates  in  a  cavern  in  the  limestone  rock,  which  has  been 
explored  nearly  a  hundred  yards  without  finding  the  termi- 
nation. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Lexington  —  Excellent  tavern  —  Fine  market  —  Transyl- 
vania university  —  Publick  buildings  —  Schools  —  Manu- 
facturies  —  Stores  and  state  of  business  —  Coffee  house 
—  Vauxhall. 

The  country  had  insensibly  assumed  the  appearance  of  an 
approach  to  a  city. — ^The  roads  very  wide  and  fine,  with 

•**  General  William  Russell  was  a  Virginian  by  birth,  who  had  lived  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  that  state,  and  from  boyhood  had  been  accustomed  to  Indian 
warfare.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  King's  Mountain  and  Gviilford  Court 
House,  and  in  the  expedition  against  the  Cherokees.  After  emigrating  to  Ken- 
tucky, he  served  with  Scott,  Wilkinson,  and  Wa)Tie  in  their  Indian  campaigns, 
showing  great  military  capacity.  Again  in  1811,  and  in  the  Western  battles  of 
the  War  of  181 2-15,  the  services  of  General  Russell  were  of  much  importance.  In 
politics  he  was  as  prominent  as  in  warfare,  representing  his  county  (Fayette)  in 
the  Kentucky  legislature  for  thirteen  terms,  but  finally  suffering  defeat  as  a  candi- 
date for  governor  (1824).  The  following  year  he  died  on  his  farm,  where  Cuming 
had  met  him. —  Ed. 


1 8  2  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

grazing  parks,  meadows,  and  every  spot  in  sight  culti- 
vated. 

Soon  after  parting  with  the  general,  we  were  gratified 
with  a  view  of  Lexington,  about  half  a  mile  distant,  from  an 
eminence  on  the  road.  On  entering  the  town  we  were  struck 
with  the  fine  roomy  scale  on  which  every  thing  appeared  to 
be  planned.  Spacious  streets,  and  large  houses  chiefly 
of  brick,  which  since  the  year  1795,  have  been  rapidly  taking 
the  place  of  the  original  wooden  ones,  several  of  which  how- 
ever yet  remain. 

We  turned  up  the  main  street,  which  is  about  eighty  feet 
wide,  compactly  built,  well  paved,  and  [161]  having  a  foot- 
way, twelve  feet  wide  on  each  side. —  Passing  several  very 
handsome  brick  houses  of  two  and  three  stories,  numerous 
stores  well  filled  with  merchandize  of  every  description,  and 
the  market  place  and  court  house,  we  dismounted  at  Wilson's 
inn,  and  entered  the  traveller's  room,  which  had  several 
strangers  in  it.  Shortly  after,  the  supper  bell  ringing,  we 
obeyed  the  summons,  and  were  ushered  into  a  room  about 
forty  feet  long,  where,  at  the  head  of  a  table,  laid  out  with 
neatness,  plenty  and  variety,  sat  our  well  dressed  hostess, 
who  did  the  honours  of  it  with  much  ease  and  propriety. 

We  retired  early,  and  next  morning,  before  breakfast, 
went  to  the  market,  which  is  held  every  Wednesday  and 
Saturday.  We  were  surprised  at  the  number  of  horses 
belonging  to  the  neighbouring  farmers,  which  were  fastened 
around  on  the  outside,  and  on  entering  the  market  place  we 
were  equally  astonished  at  the  profusion  and  variety  of  most 
of  the  necessaries  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  There 
was  not  however  such  a  display  of  flesh  meat  as  is  seen  in 
Pittsburgh,  which  might  be  owing  to  the  warmth  of  the 
climate  at  that  season.  Prices  were  nearly  similar  to  those 
at  Pittsburgh :  beef  four  cents  per  pound,  bacon  eight,  butter 
twelve  and  a  half;  lamb  twenty-five  cents  a  quarter,  com 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  183 

meal  forty-two  cents  per  bushel,  and  every  thing  else  in  pro- 
portion. Vegetables  were  in  great  abundance  and  very 
cheap,  and  were  sold  mostly  by  negro  men  and  women; 
indeed  that  race  were  the  most  predominant  both  as  to 
sellers  and  buyers. 

Our  beds  had  been  very  good,  and  our  breakfast  and 
dinner  to-day,  were  correspondent  to  our  supper  last  night 
—  displaying  a  variety  neatly  and  handsomely  served  up, 
with  excellent  attendance. 

I  employed  the  forenoon  in  running  over  and  viewing 
the  town.  It  contains  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  dwelling 
houses,  besides  bams,  stables  and  [162]  other  out  ofl&ces. 
The  streets  cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  are  from 
fifty  to  eighty  feet  wide.  A  rivulet  which  turns  some  mills 
below  the  town,  runs  through  the  middle  of  Water-street, 
but  it  is  covered  by  an  arch,  and  levelled  over  it  the  length 
of  the  street.  It  falls  into  the  Elkhom  a  few  miles  to  the 
N.W. 

There  are  societies  of  Presbyterians,  Seceders,  Episco- 
palians, Anabaptists  and  Roman  Catholicks,  each  of  which 
has  a  church,  no  way  remarkable,  except  the  Episcopalian, 
which  is  very  neat  and  convenient.  There  is  also  a  society 
of  Methodists,  which  has  not  yet  any  regular  house  of  wor- 
ship. The  court  house  now  finishing,  is  a  good,  plain, 
brick  building,  of  three  stories,  with  a  cupola,  rising  from 
the  middle  of  the  square  roof,  containing  a  bell  and  a  town 
clock.  The  cupola  is  supported  by  four  large  brick  columns 
in  the  centre  of  the  house,  rising  from  the  foundation, 
through  the  hall  of  justice,  and  in  my  opinion  adding  nothing 
to  its  beauty  or  convenience.  The  whole  building  when  fin- 
ished, will  cost  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The  masonick 
hall,  is  a  neat  brick  building,  as  is  also  the  bank,  where 
going  for  change  for  a  Philadelphia  bank  note,  I  received  in 
specie  one  per  cent,  advance,  which  they  allow  on  the  notes 


184  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

of  the  Atlantick  cities  for  the  convenience  of  remitting. 
There  is  a  publick  library  and  a  university,  called  Transyl- 
vania, which  is  incorporated  and  is  under  the  government 
of  twenty-one  trustees  and  the  direction  of  a  president,  the 
Rev.  James  Blythe,  who  is  also  professor  of  natural  philoso- 
phy, mathematicks,  geography  and  English  grammar. 
There  are  four  professors  besides:  the  Rev.  Robert  H. 
Bishop,  professor  of  moral  philosophy,  belles  lettres,  logick 
and  history;  Mr.  Ebenezer  Sharpe,  professor  of  the  lan- 
guages; Doctor  James  Fishback,  professor  of  medicine, 
&c.  and  Henry  Clay,  Esq.  professor  of  law.  The  funds  of 
the  university  arise  from  the  price  of  tuition,  (which  [163] 
is  lower  than  in  any  other  seminary  of  learning  in  the  United 
States)  and  from  eight  thousand  acres  of  first  rate  land, 
granted  to  it  by  the  state  of  Virginia;  five  thousand  of  which 
are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lexington,  and  three  thousand 
near  Louisville  at  the  falls  of  Ohio.  The  legislature  of 
Kentucky  have  also  granted  to  it  six  thousand  acres  of 
valuable  land,  south  of  Green  river.  Its  yearly  income 
from  the  lands,  now  amounts  to  about  two  thousand  dollars, 
which  will  probaT^ly  be  soon  much  increased."' 

There  are  no  fewer  than  three  creditable  boarding  schools 
for  female  education,  in  which  there  are  at  present  above 
a  hundred  pupils.  An  extract  from  Mrs.  Beck's  card,  will 
convey  some  idea  of  the  progress  of  polite  education  in  this 
country. 

''Boarders  instructed  in  the  following  branches,  at  the 
rate  of  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  viz.  Reading,  spelling, 
writing,  arithmetick,  grammar,  epistolary  correspondence, 
elocution  and  rhetorick;  geography,  with  the  use  of  maps, 


"*  For  the  early  history  of  Transylvania  University,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
celebrated  educational  institutions  in  the  West,  as  well  as  for  sketches  of  its  early 
professors,  see  Peter,  Transylvania  University  (Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  ii; 
Louisville,  1896). —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  185 

globes,  and  the  armillary  sphere ;  astronomy,  with  the  advan- 
tage of  an  orrery;  ancient  and  modem  history;  chronology, 
mythology,  and  natural  history;  natural  and  moral  philoso- 
phy; musick,  vocal  and  instrumental;  drawing,  painting,  and 
embroidery  of  all  kinds;  artificial  flowers,  and  any  other 
fashionable  fancy-work;  plain  sewing,  marking,  netting, 
&c." 

The  card  designates  a  regular  course  of  education,  as  it 
proceeds  through  the  successional  branches,  all  of  which 
cannot  be  studied  by  any  individual  at  the  same  time. 

Mrs.  Beck  is  an  English  lady,  and  is  in  high  reputation 
as  an  instructress.  She  was  now  absent,  having  taken 
advantage  of  a  vacation,  to  visit  the  Olympian  Springs, 
about  fifty  miles  from  Lexington,  much  resorted,  on  account 
of  their  salubrious  effects. 

There  is  no  regular  academy  for  males,  but  there  are 
several  day  schools. 

[164]  The  number  of  inhabitants  in  Lexington,  in  1806, 
was  1655  free  white  inhabitants,  and  1165  negro  slaves,  in 
all  2820.  The  whole  number  may  now  be  safely  estimated 
at  3000. 

There  are  three  nail  manufacturies,  which  make  about 
sixty  tons  of  nails  per  annum;  and  there  are  ten  blacksmith's 
shops,  which  find  constant  emplo)mient  for  a  considerable 
number  of  hands. 

There  are  two  copper  and  tin  manufacturies,  one  of  which 
manufactures  ware  to  the  amount  of  ten  thousand  dollars 
yearly;  the  other  is  on  a  smaller  scale. 

There  are  four  jewellers  and  silversmiths,  whose  business 
is  very  profitable. 

Seven  saddler's  shops  employ  thirty  hands,  the  proceeds 
of  whose  labour  is  annually  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
thousand  dollars. 

There  are  four  cabinet-maker's  shops,  where  household 


1 86  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

furniture  is  manufactured  in  as  handsome  a  style  as  in  any 
part  of  America,  and  where  the  high  finish  which  is  given 
to  the  native  wahiut  and  cherry  timber,  precludes  the 
regret  that  mahogany  is  not  to  be  had  but  at  an  immense 
expense. 

Three  tan  yards  and  five  currying  shops,  manufacture 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  leather  every  year. 

There  is  one  excellent  umbrella  manufactury,  one  brush, 
one  reed,  four  chair,  and  two  tobacco  manufacturies  which 
make  chewing  tobacco,  snuff  and  cigars.  Three  blue- 
dyers.  Five  hatters,  who  employ  upwards  of  fifty  hands, 
and  manufacture  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  fur 
and  wool  hats  annually.  Ten  tailors,  who  employ  forty- 
seven  journeymen  and  apprentices.  Fifteen  shoe  and  boot 
makers,  who  employ  about  sixty  hands,  and  manufacture 
to  the  amount  of  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  yearly;  and 
two  stocking  weavers. 

Two  brew-houses  make  as  good  beer  as  can  be  got  in 
the  United  States.  A  carding  machine  for  [165]  wool,  is  a 
great  convenience  to  the  manufacturers  of  that  article. 
There  is  one  manufacturer  of  baling  cloth  for  cotton  wool, 
who  employs  thirty-eight  hands,  and  makes  thirty-six  thou- 
sand yards  annually;  and  two  cotton  spinning  machines, 
worked  by  horses,  yield  a  handsome  profit  to  the  proprie- 
tors. An  oil  mill,  worked  by  horses,  makes  fifteen  hundred 
gallons  of  oil  per  year.  Seven  distilleries  make  near 
seven  thousand  gallons  of  spirits  yearly.  Four  rope-walks 
employ  about  sixty  hands,  and  make^  about  three  hundred 
tons  of  cordage  annually,  the  tar  for  which  is  made  on  the 
banks  of  Sandy  river,  and  is  bought  in  Lexington  at  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  cents  per  gallon.  There  are  two 
apothecaries'  shops,  and  five  regular  physicians.  Twenty- 
two  stores  retail  upwards  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
worth  of   imported,  foreign   merchandize   annually;   and 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  187 

there  is  one  book  and  stationary  store  on  a  very  large  scale, 
and  two  printing  oflSces,  where  gazettes  are  printed  weekly/" 

In  the  neighbourhood  are  six  powder  mills,  that  make 
about  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  powder  yearly. 

There  are  seven  brick  yards  which  employ  sixty  hands, 
and  make  annually  two  million  five  hundred  thousand 
bricks;  and  there  are  fifty  brick-layers,  and  as  many  attend- 
ants, who  have  built  between  thirty  and  forty  good  brick 
houses  each  of  the  last  three  years.  The  Presbyterian 
society  is  now  finishing  a  church  which  will  cost  eight  thou- 
sand dollars. 

Manufactures  are  progressing  in  several  parts  of  the  state. 

In  Madison  county  there  has  lately  been  established  a 
manufactury  on  a  large  scale  for  spinning  hemp  and  flax. 
It  is  wrought  by  water,  and  is  calculated  to  keep  in  motion 
twelve  hundred  spindles,  each  of  which  will  spin  per  day, 
half  a  pound  of  thread  of  fineness  to  make  from  six  to  ten 
hundred  linen,  or  [166]  four  pounds  per  spindle  suitable  for 
cotton  baling.  One  hundred  and  sixty  spindles  are  now  at 
work,  which  have  spun  a  quantity  of  thread  of  superiour 
quality. 

Having  been  informed  that  Mr.  Prentice,  from  New 
England,  who  is  keeper  of  the  county  gaol,  had  collected 
much  local  information  respecting  Lexington,  with  an 
intention  of  publishing  an  account  of  its  settlement,  progress 
and  present  state,  I  called  on  him,  and  he  very  politely 
communicated  to  me  every  thing  I  interrogated  him  on: 
as  his  book  however  will  be  given  to  the  publick  on  some 
future  day,  I  will  not  anticipate  it;  but  will  merely  mention 
one  circumstance  as  a  proof  how  much  luxury  has  progressed 
here.    Last  year  there  were  in  Lexington  thirty-nine  two 


"'  For  a  sketch  of  Lexington  and  its  first  two  newspapers,  see  Michaux's  Trav- 
els, vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  37,  note  28,  and  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  p.  200,  note 
40. —  Ed. 


1 8  8  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

wheel  carriages,  such  as  gigs  and  one  horse  chaises,  valued 
at  5764  dollars,  and  twenty-one  four  wheel  ones,  coaches^ 
chariots,  &c.  valued  at  8900  dollars;  since  when  four  elegant 
ones  have  been  added  to  the  number.  This  may  convey 
some  idea  of  the  taste  for  shew  and  expense  which  pervades 
this  country.  There  are  now  here,  fifteen  hundred  good 
and  valuable  horses,  and  seven  hundred  milk  cows. 

The  police  of  Lexington  seems  to  be  well  regulated:  as 
one  proof  of  which  there  is  an  established  nightly  watch. 

The  copper  coinage  of  the  United  States  is  of  no  use  in 
Kentucky  —  the  smallest  circulating  coin  being  a  silver  six- 
teenth of  a  dollar. 

There  are  four  billiard  tables  in  Lexington,  and  cards  are 
a  good  deal  played  at  taverns,  where  it  is  more  customary 
to  meet  for  that  purpose  than  at  private  houses. 

There  is  a  coffee  house  here,  where  is  a  reading  room 
for  the  benefit  of  subscribers  and  strangers,  in  which  are 
forty-two  files  of  different  newspapers  from  various  parts  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  supported  [167]  by  subscribers,  who 
pay  six  dollars  each  annually,  and  of  which  there  are  now 
sixty.  In  the  same  house  is  a  billiard  table,  and  chess  and 
back-gammon  tables,  and  the  guests  may  be  accommodated 
with  wine,  porter,  beer,  spirituous  liquors,  cordials  and  con- 
fectionary. It  is  kept  by  a  Mr.  Terasse,  formerly  of  the 
island  of  St.  Bartholomew.  He  had  been  unfortunate  in 
mercantile  business  in  the  West  Indies,  and  coming  to  this 
country,  and  failing  in  the  recovery  of  some  property  he 
had  shipped  to  New  York,  he  had  no  other  resource  left  to 
gain  a  provision  for  his  family,  but  the  teaching  of  the  French 
language  and  dancing,  in  Lexington.  The  trustees  of 
Transylvania  college  (or  university,  as  the  Lexington  people 
proudly  call  it)  employed  him  in  the  former,  but  had  it  not 
been  for  the  latter,  he  might  have  starved.  And  here  it  may 
not  be  impertinent  to  remark,  that  in  most  parts  of  the  United 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  189 

States,  teachers  of  dancing,  meet  with  more  encouragement 
than  professors  of  any  species  of  literary  science. —  Dis- 
gusted at  length  with  the  little  encouragement  he  received, 
he  bethought  himself  of  his  present  business,  in  which  he 
has  become  useful  to  the  town  and  seems  to  be  reaping  a 
plentiful  harvest  from  his  ingenuity.  He  has  opened  a 
little  publick  garden  behind  his  house,  which  he  calls 
Vauxhall.  It  has  a  most  luxuriant  grape  arbour,  and  two 
or  three  summer  houses,  formed  also  of  grape  vines,  all  of 
which  are  illuminated  with  variegated  lamps,  every  Wednes- 
day evening,  when  the  musick  of  two  or  three  decent  per- 
formers sometimes  excites  parties  to  dance  on  a  small 
boarded  platform  in  the  middle  of  the  arbour.  It  is  becom- 
ing a  place  of  fashionable  resort. 

[168]    CHAPTER  XXVII 

Road  to  Frankfort  —  Leesburgh  ' —  Mulatto  innkeeper  — 
Interchange  of  musical  entertainment  —  Frankfort  — 
Breakfast  under  air  fans  —  Sand  fit  for  glass  —  Marble 
—  Publick  buildings  —  Eccentrick  character  of  the  keeper 
of  the  penitentiary  —  Return  —  Coles's  bad  inn  —  Abuses 
in  the  post  office  department. 

We  left  Lexington  after  dinner,  and  taking  the  left  hand 
road  of  two  equally  used  to  Frankfort,  we  travelled  twelve 
miles  through  a  very  rich,  but  not  a  generally  settled  country. 

After  crossing  the  Town  branch,  Wolfe's  fork,  Steele's 
run,  and  the  South  branch  of  Elkhom  river,  to  which  the 
three  former  are  auxiliaries,  and  on  all  of  which  are  several 
mills,  we  arrived  at  a  hamlet  of  three  or  four  houses  called 
Leesburgh,  twelve  miles  from  Lexington."*  One  of  the 
houses  had  been  the  seat  of  the  late  Col.  Lee,  and  is  still 

"*  Leestown,  laid  out  by  Hancock  Lee  in  1775,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settle- 
ments in  Kentucky.  Because  of  its  location  on  the  Kentucky  River,  it  seemed 
destined  to  become  a  town  of  importance.  In  Cimiing's  time,  however,  it  had 
dwindled  to  a  mere  hamlet,  and  has  since  long  ceased  to  exist. —  Ed. 


190  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

owned  by  his  widow,  who  rents  it  to  a  mulatto  man  named 
Daly,  who  has  converted  it  into  an  excellent  inn.  With 
the  house,  Daly  occupies  as  much  cultivated  land  as  nearly 
supplies  his  well  frequented  stables  with  hay,  corn  and  oats. 
There  is  also  a  good  kitchen  garden  in  which  are  vast 
quantities  of  culinary  sweet  herbs,  besides  useful  vegetables, 
and  he  has  good  stabling  and  other  out  offices  —  for  all 
which  he  pays  only  forty  pounds  Virginia  currency,  or  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  and  two  thirds,  per  annum. 
We  experienced  the  benefit  of  his  spacious  icehouse,  in  the 
fine  butter  we  had  at  supper,  where  every  thing  was  good, 
particularly  the  coffee,  which  was  almost  a  la  Frangaise. 
Daly  having  a  good  violin,  on  which  he  plays  by  ear  with 
some  taste,  he  entertained  us  with  musick  while  we  supped, 
in  return  for  which,  we  played  for  him  afterwards  some 
duets,  by  the  aid  [169]  of  another  violin,  borrowed  of  young 
Mr.  Lee,  who  resides  in  the  neighbourhood  with  his  mother. 

My  good  bed  did  not  lull  me  to  repose,  partly  from  the 
strength  of  our  host's  coffee,  and  partly  from  a  stomachick 
affection  through  indigestion. 

After  a  sleepless  night,  the  freshness  of  the  morning 
air  revived  me,  and  we  proceeded  towards  Frankfort, 
amusing  ourselves  by  the  way  with  talking  over  the  vanity 
and  egotism  of  Mr.  Daly,  who  had  entertained  us  with  many 
little  anecdotes,  connected  with  some  of  the  first  and  most 
celebrated  characters  in  the  United  States,  in  which  he  was 
always  a  principal  actor.  His  vanity  however  had  met  with 
a  sad  check,  soon  after  our  alighting  at  his  house,  from  the 
abuse  of  a  female  negro  slave  from  a  neighbouring  planta- 
tion, who  he  drove  away  with  a  cowskin,  and  she  in  return 
lavished  on  hiin  the  most  opprobrious  epithets,  among 
which  he  seemed  to  be  most  hurt  by  her  calling  him  "an 
Indian  looking  and  a  black  son  of  a  b — .' ' 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  191 

A  fine  road,  through  a  more  level  country  than  we  had 
came  through  last  evening,  brought  us  in  two  hours,  eleven 
miles,  to  the  hill  above  Frankfort,  which  from  thence  was 
seen  to  advantage,  with  Kentucky  river  flowing  past  it, 
through  a  deep  and  narrow  valley,  confined  by  steep  and 
rather  stony  hills,  which  afford  a  variety,  after  the  fine 
plains,  luxuriant  forests  and  rich  farms,  within  twenty  miles 
in  every  direction  of  Lexington. 

We  descended  the  hill,  into  the  capital  of  Kentucky,  and 
stopped  at  Weiseger's,  the  sign  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  where 
we  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  breakfast,  with  two  green  silk 
air  fans  kept  in  motion  over  our  heads,  by  a  little  negro 
girl  with  a  string  from  the  ceiling,  in  a  room  seventy-two 
feet  long."' 

After  breakfast  I  accompanied  Mr.  A to  examine 

a  shallow  stratum  of  sand,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  near  a 
mineral  spring  about  half  a  mile  below  [170]  the  town,  and 
he  got  a  negro  who  was  fishing,  to  wade  to  an  island  opposite, 
and  bring  some  from  thence,  which  had  probably  accumu- 
lated there  by  floods. —  He  pronounced  both  kinds  proper 
for  the  manufacture  of  glass,  which  was  what  he  had  in 
view,  but  it  did  [not]  seem  as  if  a  sufficient  quantity  could  be 
procured  for  an  extensive  manufactury. 

We  then  returned  to  town,  walked  through  it,  and  entered 
the  state  house,  from  the  cupola  of  which  we  could  distinctly 
count  every  house,  the  number  of  which  was  exactly  ninety, 
most  of  them  well  built  with  brick,  and  some  with  rough  but 
good  marble  of  a  dusky  cream  colour,  veined  with  both 
blue  and  red,  and  capable  of  a  good  polish,  which  is  abun- 


"•  For  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  Frankfort,  see  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of 
this  series,  p.  200,  note  39.  Daniel  Weiseger  was  a  prominent  Frankfort  citizen, 
who  assisted  in  laying  out  the  town  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  chosen  for 
the  erection  of  the  second  Kentucky  state-house,  1814. —  Ed. 


192  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

dant  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  old  wooden  houses  are 
rapidly  disappearing  to  give  place  to  brick,  since  about  two 
years  ago.  Until  that  time,  attempts  had  been  made  at 
every  annual  sitting  of  the  legislature,  to  remove  the  seat 
of  government  elsewhere,  ever  since  the  year  1793,  the  first 
after  the  separation  of  this  government  from  the  state  of 
Virginia.  These  attempts  having  failed,  and  there  having 
been  no  renewals  of  them  in  the  last  two  sessions  of  the  legis- 
lature, the  proprietors,  under  a  security  of  Frankfort  being 
established  as  the  permanent  capital  of  the  state,  have 
become  spirited  in  improvement,  and  the  buildings  erected 
since  are  on  a  scale  and  of  materials  worthy  of  a  capital. 

The  publick  buildings  here,  are  a  state-house,  a  court- 
house, a  gaol,  a  market-house,  the  state  penitentiary,  and  a 
government  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Greenup,  who  now 
holds  that  office. 

The  state-house  of  rough  marble,  is  about  eighty-six  feet 
front,  by  fifty-four  deep.  It  is  an  oblong  square  with  a 
square  roof,  and  a  cupola  containing  a  bell  rising  from  the 
centre.  The  house  is  plain,  but  roomy  and  commodious. 
On  the  first  floor  are  the  treasurer's,  register's,  auditor's, 
and  printing  offices.  [171]  On  the  second,  the  rooms  for 
the  representatives  of  the  state,  and  the  federal  court  of 
appeals,  and  on  the  third  are  the  senate  chamber,  the  general 
court  and  a  school  room."" 

The  court-house  is  a  plain  brick  building  near  the  state- 
house. —  A  piazza  of  five  arches  opens  on  the  hall  for  the 
county  courts. — The  clerk's  offices  are  on  the  same  floor. — 
The  jury  rooms  are  on  the  second  floor,  and  on  the  third  is  a 
mason's  lodge. 

There  are  four  publick  inns,  which  in  point  of  size,  accom- 

"°This  was  the  first  permanent  Kentucky  state-house,  built  in  1794,  and  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1813.  For  a  cut,  see  Collins,  History  0}  Kentucky  (Covington, 
1874),  ii,  p.  246. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  193 

modation  and  attendance,  are  not  surpassed  in  the  United 
States,  and  there  are  several  large  houses,  where  people 
under  the  necessity  of  attending  the  courts,  or  detained  for 
any  time  in  Frankfort,  can  be  accommodated  with  private 
lodgings.  The  erection  of  a  permanent  wooden  bridge  over 
the  Kentucky  has  been  lately  commenced,  which  will  be 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  yards  long  from  bank  to  bank, 
the  surface  of  which  is  about  fifty  feet  above  low  water 
mark.  The  present  bridge  of  boats  is  about  sixty-five  yards 
between  the  abutments,  and  the  river  now  at  low  water  is 
eighty-seven  yards  wide.  Three  brigs  have  been  built 
above  the  bridge,  and  sent  down  the  Kentucky,  the  Ohio, 
and  the  Mississippi,  but  the  Kentucky  is  not  navigable 
during  the  low  water  of  summer  and  fall.  Coals  are  brought 
down  it  nearly  three  hundred  miles  and  delivered  in  Frank- 
fort at  sixpence  per  bushel,  but  wood  being  yet  tolerably 
plenty,  they  are  used  only  in  the  penitentiary  and  by  the 
blacksmiths. 

There  are  several  curious  strata  of  marble,  rising  from 
the  margin  of  the  river,  like  steps  of  stairs,  towards  the  top 
of  the  bank  on  the  town  side.  The  marble  is  covered  by  a 
stratum  of  blue  limestone,  which  has  [172]  over  it  a  super- 
stratum of  reddish  clay  and  gravel  mixed. 

After  dinner  we  visited  the  penitentiary  accompanied  by 
our  landlord  and  Mr.  William  Hunter,  a  respectable  printer 
and  bookseller,  and  a  genteel  man,  to  whom  I  had  brought 
a  letter  of  introduction."^  In  our  way  we  passed  the  govern- 
ment house,  which  is  a  good,  plain,  two  story,  brick  building, 

"'  William  Hunter  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  captured  at  an 
early  age  by  a  French  man-of-war,  and  carried  to  France,  where  he  learned  the 
trade  of  printing.  In  1793  he  returned  to  America,  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  Matthew  Carey  at  Philadelphia.  Two  years  later,  he  removed  west,  and  after 
attempting  newspapers  in  several  towns  finally  estabhshed  The  Palladium  at 
Frankfort  in  1798,  where  he  was  also  State  printer.  Later  in  life  he  removed  to 
Washington,  where  he  died  in  1854. —  Ed. 


1 94  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

and  near  it  we  met  govemour  Greenup,  who  saluted  us  with 
much  familiarity.  He  is  a  plain,  respectable  looking  elderly 
man,  much  esteemed  throughout  the  state. "^ 

The  penitentiary  is  contained  within  a  square  area  of  an 
acre,  consequently  each  side  is  two  hundred  and  eight  feet 
long.  The  work  shops  and  store  houses  occupy  the  front 
and  the  other  three  sides  are  enclosed  by  a  stone  wall  sixteen 
feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  sort  of  entablature  of  brick  about 
three  feet  high,  rounded  on  the  top  and  projecting  about  a 
foot  from  the  wall  on  each  side  to  prevent  any  attempts  of 
the  convicts  to  scale  the  wall.  There  are  now  twenty-four 
miserable  wretches  confined  here  for  various  limitations  of 
time,  in  proportion  to  the  enormity  of  their  crimes,  but  none 
exceeding  ten  years,  the  longest  period  limited  by  law.  The 
cells  of  the  criminals  are  in  a  two  story  building  with  a  gallery 
on  the  inside  of  the  area,  extending  the  length  of  one  of  the 
sides.  Some  of  the  convicts  were  playing  fives,  and  the 
rest  amusing  themselves  otherwise  in  the  yard.  It  was 
Sunday,  a  day  always  devoted  to  amusement  by  those  out- 
casts of  society,  who  have  their  daily  task  exacted  from  them 
with  rigour  during  the  rest  of  the  week.  They  are  taught, 
and  work  at  every  trade  for  which  they  have  a  taste,  and 
of  which  they  are  capable,  so  that  some  who  were  useless 
burthens  on  society  previous  to  their  confinement,  carry 
with  them,  on  their  return  to  the  world,  the  means  of  earning 
a  decent  subsistence;  though  at  [173]  the  same  time,  perhaps 
the  majority,  instead  of  being  reformed,  become  more  prone 
to  vice,  through  despair  of  ever  gaining  their  lost  reputation. 
The  institution  had  like  to  have  failed  about  two  years  ago, 
through  the  insufficiency  of  the  superintendants,  when  a 

"*  Christopher  Greenup,  third  governor  of  Kentucky,  was  Virginia  bom  (1750), 
and  served  in  the  Revolution,  attaining  the  rank  of  colonel.  In  1 783,  he  migrated 
to  Kentucky,  and  having  already  .studied  law  was,  two  years  later,  chosen  as  clerk 
of  the  chief  court  for  Kentucky  District.  His  first  service  for  the  State  was  in 
Congress,  1792-97.  After  his  gubernatorial  experience  (1804-08),  he  retired  to 
his  home  near  Maysville,  where  he  died  in  1818. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  195 

captain  Taylor,  a  man  of  good  property  in  Mercer  county, 
who  was  an  enthusiastick  admirer  of  it,  was  prevailed  on  by 
the  governour  to  undertake  the  management  and  superin- 
tendance,  and  it  has  since  not  only  supported  itself,  but  has 
earned  a  surplus,  which  goes  into  the  state  treasury.  Taylor 
is  a  stem  man  of  steady  habits,  and  a  great  mechanical 
genius.  He  superintends  every  class  of  workmen  himself, 
and  has  invented  several  machines  for  the  improvement  of 
mechanicks.  He  has  nailors,  coopers,  chair  makers,  turners, 
and  stone  cutters,  the  latter  of  whom  cut  and  polish  marble 
slabs  of  all  sizes,  and  he  has  taught  most  of  them  himself. 

He  is  a  large  and  strong  man,  about  fifty  years  of  age, 
and  either  through  eccentricity,  or  to  give  himself  a  ter- 
rifick  appearance,  he  wears  his  dark  brown  beard  about  two 
inches  long,  from  each  ear  round  the  lower  part  of  the  chin. 
It  is  surely  a  strange  taste,  which  prompts  him  to  separate 
himself  from  his  family  and  the  world,  to  exercise  a  petty 
tyranny  over  felons,  and  to  live  in  such  constant  apprehen- 
sion from  them,  that,  as  I  was  informed,  he  always  carries 
pistols. 

We  resisted  the  polite  and  friendly  importunity  of  Mr. 
Hunter,  to  spend  the  day  with  him,  and  quitting  Frankfort, 
we  took  a  different  route  to  that  by  which  we  had  come, 
which  brought  us,  after  riding  ten  miles  mostly  through 
woods,  to  Coles's,  who  keeps  an  inn  on  this  road,  in  opposi- 
tion to  Daly,  on  the  other.  But  any  traveller,  who  has  once 
contrasted  his  rough  vulgarity,  and  the  badness  of  his  table 
and  accommodations,  with  the  taste,  order,  plenty,  and  good 
attendance  of  his  mulatto  competitor,  will  [174]  never  trouble 
Mr.  Coles  a  second  time,  especially  as  there  is  no  sensible 
difference  in  the  length  or  goodness  of  the  roads,  and  that 
by  Daly's,  is  through  a  generally  much  better  settled  country. 

We  got  back  to  Lexington  on  Monday,  3d  August,  in 
time  for  breakfast,  which  I  partook  of  at  the  publick  table 
of  the  Traveller's  Inn,  merely  for  curiosity,  but  notwithstand- 


196  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

ing  the  apparent  elegance  of  the  house,  my  other  landlord's 
(Wilson)  suffered  nothing  in  the  comparison. 

I  whiled  away  the  day  in  expectation  of  the  post,  which 
was  to  decide  whether  or  not  I  should  have  the  pleasure  of 

my  friend  A 's  company  on  my  return  to  Pittsburgh, 

but  owing  to  some  unaccountable  irregularity,  which  is  a 
cause  of  general  complaint  in  this  country  against  the  post- 
office  department,  it  did  not  arrive  until  ten  at  night,  al- 
though it  was  due  at  eleven  in  the  morning.  Another  very 
just  cause  of  complaint  against  the  same  department  is  the 
slowness  with  which  the  mail  is  conveyed.  A  trifling  im- 
provement and  a  very  small  additional  expence,  would  for- 
ward the  mails  through  the  whole  western  country,  where 
the  roads  are  comparatively  good,  and  the  climate  very  fine, 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day,  except  during  floods 
in  the  winter,  where,  for  want  of  bridges,  the  roads  are  some- 
times impassable  in  particular  spots  for  a  few  days,  whereas, 
now,  in  the  best  season,  the  average  progress  of  the  mails, 
does  not  exceed  thirty  miles  daily. 

Mr.  A having  an  engagement,  the  day  would  have 

passed  very  heavily,  had  it  not  been  for  the  coffee  house, 
where  I  amused  myself  with  the  wonderful  mass  of  political 
contradiction  to  be  found  in  forty  different  newspapers, 
where  scarcely  any  two  editors  coincided  in  opinion. 

[175]    CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Departure  from  Lexington  —  Bryan's  station  —  Wonderful 
fertility  of  soil  —  Paris  —  Sameness  of  prospect  —  Sim- 
plicity of  election  of  state  representatives  —  Frank  bird  — 
Hasten  on  —  Violent  attack  of  fever  at  May's-lick  — 
Washington  —  Occasional  remarks  on  hospitality — Mays  - 
ville  —  Good  effects  of  fortitude  and  abstinence. 

I  LEFT  Lexington  on  Tuesday  the  4th  August,  by  a  different 
road  to  that  by  which  I  had  first  entered  it,  now  taking  the 
stage  and  post  road  direct  to  Paris. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  1 97 

The  morning  was  fine,  the  road  good,  and  the  country  well 
settled  and  improved,  but  the  want  of  the  company  of  my 
worthy  friend  A ,  to  which  I  had  now  been  so  long  ac- 
customed, was  felt  by  me  so  sensibly  as  to  make  the  miles 
appear  uncommonly  long. 

At  four  miles  I  passed  a  celebrated  old  military  post, 
called  Bryan's  station,  where  the  first  settlers  of  the  state, 
repelled  a  desperate  attack  of  the  Indians,  who  soon  after 
in  their  turn,  ambushed  and  cut  off  Col.  Todd's  little  army 
at  the  Blue  licks,  as  before  mentioned.  This  post  is  now 
the  pleasant  seat  and  fine  farm  of  a  Mr.  Rogers."' 

I  soon  after  overtook  an  Irishman  named  Gray,  who  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  rode  two  miles  with  me,  and  was 
intelligent  and  communicative.  He  informed  me  that  the 
usual  produce  of  an  acre  of  this  wonderfully  luxuriant  soil, 
is  from  forty  to  fifty  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  or  from  twenty 
to  thirty-seven  of  wheat  clean  from  the  threshing  floor.  And 
here  I  must  observe,  that  I  have  not  seen,  nor  heard  of  any 
of  the  threshing  machines  now  so  common  in  the  British 
European  Isles,  in  any  part  of  America.  As  they  save  so 
much  labour,  I  am  astonished  that  [176]  they  have  not  yet 
made  their  way  across  the  Atlantick. — They  would  be  of 
incalculable  utility  to  the  very  wealthy  farmers  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

Crossing  the  North  fork  of  Elkhom,  and  Hewetson's 
branch  of  Licking,  both  good  mill  streams,  I  entered  Paris, 
eighteen  miles  from  Lexington.  It  is  situated  on  Stoner's 
fork  of  Licking,  and  contains  eighty-seven  dwelling  houses 
mostly  good  ones,  several  of  them  of  brick,  and  six  or  seven 
building. 

It  is  compact,  in  three  small  parallel  streets,  with  a  square 
in  the  centre,  on  which  is  a  stone  meeting  house,  a  neat 

"^  See  Durrett,  Bryant's  Station  (Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  12;  Louisville, 
1897).— Ed. 


198  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

brick  court  house,  a  small  but  strong  gaol,  and  a  market 
house.  It  is  the  seat  of  justice  of  Bourbon  county,  and  has 
much  appearance  of  prosperity.  From  the  cupola  of  the 
court  house,  there  is  an  extensive  view  of  a  very  rich  country 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  in  every  direction,  but  though 
it  is  a  country  of  hills  and  dales,  there  is  too  great  a  sameness 
to  please  the  eye. 

Perhaps  there  is  not  on  the  earth  a  naturally  richer  country 
than  the  area  of  sixteen  hundred  square  miles  of  which  Lex- 
ington is  the  centre,  yet  there  is  a  something  wanting  to 
please  the  eye  of  taste  —  a  variety,  like  the  fertile  plains  of 
the  Milanese,  contrasted  with  the  neighbouring  Alpine 
scenery,  and  studded  with  the  noble  lakes,  and  streaked 
with  the  meandering  rivers  of  that  delightful  region,  which 
has  given  such  inimitable  taste  and  execution  to  the  pencils 
of  so  many  eminent  painters. 

It  was  the  day  of  election  for  representatives  in  the 
legislature  of  the  state.  The  voting  was  very  simple.  The 
county  clerk  sat  within  the  bar  of  the  court  house,  and  the 
freeholders  as  they  arrived,  gave  him  their  names  and  the 
names  of  those  they  voted  for,  which  he  registered  in  a  book. 
— That  done,  the  voter  remounted  his  horse  and  returned  to 
his  farm. 

The  hostler  at  Buchanan's  inn,  where  I  stopped  to 
breakfast,  is  a  free  negro  man  named  Frank  Bird.  [177]  He 
was  formerly  owned  by  the  great  and  good  Washington, 
whom  he  accompanied  and  served  in  all  his  campaigns. 
He  had  learned  farriery,  cooking  and  hairdressing  in  Eng- 
land in  his  youth,  so  that  he  must  have  been  a  useful  ser- 
vant. He  was  liberated  and  got  some  land  near  Mount 
Vernon,  by  the  general's  will,  and  now  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
seven,  he  is  hostler  here,  and  enjoys  such  health  and  strength, 
that  a  few  days  ago  he  carried  eight  bushels  of  salt,  exceed- 
ing four  hundred  pounds  weight.      The  old  man  repaid 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  199 

my  complaisance  in  listening  to  him,  by  recounting  as 
much  of  his  own  memoirs  as  my  time  would  permit  me  to 
hear. 

I  left  Paris,  and  passing  Millersburgh,  and  one  of  the 
first  settlements,  called  the  Irish  station,  four  miles  further, 
just  before  entering  the  barren  country  three  or  four  miles 
on  that  side  of  Blue  licks,  I  spurred  my  horse  past  Nicholas- 
ville  court  house  and  tavern,  where  I  counted  above  a 
hundred  horses,  fastened  under  trees.  I  was  induced  to 
hasten  past  this  place,  as  the  voters  in  that  sterile  part  of  the 
country  did  not  appear  quite  so  peaceable  and  orderly  as 
those  I  had  seen  in  the  morning  at  Paris,  and  I  was  not  sure 
but  some  of  them  might  have  been  moved  by  the  spirit  of 
whiskey  to  challenge  me  to  run  a  race  with  them,  or  to 
amuse  the  company  with  a  game  of  rough  and  tumble,  at 
both  which  the  backwoods  Virginians  are  very  dexterous. 

I  arrived  at  May's  lick  about  sunset,  much  fatigued  with 
my  ride  of  fifty-two  miles,  in  one  of  the  hottest  days  of  the 
season.  I  was  very  feverish,  yet  I  forced  myself,  though 
without  appetite,  to  take  a  light  supper,  after  which  I  bathed 
my  feet  in  warm  water,  and  retired  to  bed,  where  I  passed 
a  sleepless  night  in  high  fever  and  excessive  thirst,  which 
being  no  ways  abated  at  the  first  dawn  of  day,  I  arose  and 
called  my  host  to  prepare  my  horse,  being  determined  not 
to  sink  under  my  indisposition,  while  capable  [178]  of  mak- 
ing the  smallest  exertion.  My  flushed  countenance,  black 
and  parched  lips,  and  frequent  nausea,  alarmed  my  host  so 
as  to  induce  him  to  dissuade  me  to  proceed,  but  finding  me 
decided  he  prescribed  a  strong  infusion  of  tansey  in  Geneva 
—  the  bitterness  of  which  a  little  relieved  my  thirst,  but  did 
not  prevent  its  return  accompanied  by  nausea  and  excrucia- 
ting headache,  in  which  situation  I  arrived  at  Washington 
at  seven  o'clock,  and  returned  my  horse  to  its  hearty  old 
owner  with  the  young  fat  wife. 


200  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

I  reposed  a  while  on  a  bed  at  my  friendly  host  Ebert's, 
who  as  well  as  Mrs.  Ebert,  was  truly  kind  and  hospitable. 

Apropos  —  That  last  word  just  reminds  me  of  a  remark 
I  have  made  in  the  course  of  my  tour.  I  had  letters  of 
introduction  to  some  very  respectable  merchants  in  different 
parts  of  this  state,  which  were  productive  of  some  general 
advice  and  information,  but  without  my  being  invited  further 
into  their  houses  than  their  shops,  or  (as  they  are  called) 
stores;  or  without  having  it  in  my  power  to  excuse  myself 
from  tasting  their  wine,  cider,  whiskey,  or  any  thing  else. 
I  must  except  Mr.  Hunter  of  Frankfort,  from  this  general 
remark,  and  the  polite  invitation  of  general  Russel  on  the 
road,  was  a  specimen  of  the  hospitality  of  the  country  gen- 
tlemen, which  I  have  heard  much  boasted  of,  as  brought 
with  them  from  Virginia;  so  that  I  cannot  absolutely  tax 
Kentucky  with  a  total  want  of  that  virtue. 

After  taking  a  couple  of  basons  of  strong  coffee  without 
milk,  I  found  myself  much  relieved,  and  proceeded  on  foot 
to  Maysville,  where  I  arrived  in  something  more  than  an 
hour.  The  exercise  of  walking  had  restored  my  perspira- 
tion, and  after  two  hours  repose  at  my  host  January's,  I 
arose  in  a  state  of  convalescence,  sat  down  to  the  dinner 
table,  and  forced  myself  to  partake  of  a  chicken  —  after 
which  I  devoted  the  remainder  of  the  day  to  quiet  and  read- 
ing [i  79]  —  took  a  cup  of  coffee,  retired  early  —  had  a  good 
night's  rest,  and  felt  no  more  of  my  fever. 

I  am  the  more  minute  in  describing  my  indisposition, 
partly  to  warn  other  travellers,  to  avoid  excessive  fatigue 
under  a  hot  sun,  and  partly  to  shew  the  good  effects  to  be 
derived  from  fortitude  and  patience  under  most  diseases.  I 
am  persuaded  that  had  I  obeyed  the  dictates  of  my  inclina- 
tion, and  my  landlord's  advice  at  May's  lick,  I  should  have 
experienced  a  most  severe,  and  probably  fatal  attack  of 
highly  inflammatory  and  bilious  fever  —  but  by  bearing 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  201 

up  against  it  —  by  perseverance  in  exercise  and  rest  alter- 
nately —  checking  my  strong  desire  for  liquids,  and  using 
only  such  as  were  proper  for  me,  and  that  moderately,  and 
especially  by  refraining  from  every  thing  which  might  have 
the  smallest  tendency  towards  keeping  up  the  heat  of  the 
blood,  with  the  exception  of  the  tansey  bitters  at  May's 
lick,  I  precluded  the  necessity  of  either  medicine  or  profes- 
sional advice. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Hospitality  of  farmers  —  Primative  dispensation  of  justice  — 
Ellis's  ferry,  and  Powers'  tavern  —  Squire  Leadham  — 
West  Union  —  Allen's  —  A  North  Carolina  cotton  planter 
—  Brush  creek  —  J.  Platter's  —  A  thunder  storm  —  A 
hunter's  cabin  —  Old  Lashley  —  Marshon's. 

Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  I  was  employed  in 
rambling  about  the  woods,  exploring  and  examining  a  tract 
of  land,  of  a  thousand  acres,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  which  I 
had  purchased  when  in  Europe  last  year,  and  which  had 
been  the  principal  cause  of  my  present  tour.  As  it  was  only 
six  miles  from  [180]  Maysville,  I  crossed  the  Ohio  and  went 
to  it  on  foot.  I  had  expected  to  have  found  a  mere  wilderness, 
as  soon  as  I  should  quit  the  high  road,  but  to  my  agreeable 
surprise,  I  found  my  land  surrounded  on  every  side  by  fine 
farms,  some  of  them  ten  years  settled,  and  the  land  itself, 
both  in  quality  and  situation,  not  exceeded  by  any  in  this  fine 
country.  The  population  was  also  astonishing  for  the  time 
of  the  settlement,  which  a  muster  of  the  militia,  while  I 
was  there,  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  knowing  —  there 
being  reviewed  a  battalion  of  upwards  of  five  hundred 
effective  men,  most  expert  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  belonging 
to  the  district  of  ten  miles  square. 

And  now  I  experienced  amongst  these  honest  and  friendly 
farmers  real  hospitality,  for  they  vied  with  each  other  in 


202  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

lodging  me  at  their  houses,  and  in  giving  me  a  hearty  and 
generous  welcome  to  their  best  fare.  Robert  Simpson  from 
New  Hampshire,  and  Daniel  Ker  and  Thomas  Gibson 
from  Pennsylvania,  shall  ever  be  entitled  to  my  grateful 
remembrance.  I  had  no  letters  of  introduction  to  them  — 
I  had  no  claims  on  their  hospitality,  other  than  what  any 
other  stranger  ought  to  have. —  But  they  were  farmers, 
and  had  not  acquired  those  contracted  habits,  which  I  have 
observed  to  prevail  very  generally  amongst  the  traders  in 
this  part  of  the  world. 

On  Saturday  I  returned  to  Ellis's  ferry  opposite  Mays- 
ville,  to  give  directions  for  my  baggage  being  sent  after  me 
by  the  stage  to  Chilicothe. 

On  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  I  found  squire  Ellis  seated  on 
a  bench  under  the  shade  of  two  locust  trees,  with  a  table, 
pen  and  ink,  and  several  papers,  holding  a  justice's  court, 
which  he  does  every  Saturday."* —  Seven  or  eight  men  were 
sitting  on  the  bench  with  him,  awaiting  his  awards  in  their 
several  cases. —  When  he  had  finished,  which  was  soon  after 
I  had  taken  a  seat  under  the  same  shade,  one  of  the  men 
invited  the  squire  to  drink  with  them,  which  he  [181]  con- 
senting to,  some  whiskey  was  provided  from  landlord  Powers, 
in  which  all  parties  made  a  libation  to  peace  and  justice. 
There  was  something  in  the  scene  so  primative  and  so 
simple,  that  I  could  not  help  enjoying  it  with  much  satis- 
faction. 

I  took  up  my  quarters  for  the  night  at  Powers' s,  who  is 
an  Irishman  from  Ballibay,  in  the  county  of  Monaghan. 
He  pays  squire  Ellis  eight  hundred  dollars  per  annum  for 

***  Captain  Nathan  Ellis  with  five  brothers  embarked  at  Brownsville  in  1 795, 
and  floating  down  the  Ohio,  stopped  at  MaysviUe.  Finding  the  Kentucky  lands 
well  occupied  they  crossed  to  the  Ohio  shore  and  Nathan  Ellis  established  the  ferry 
bearing  his  name.  The  title  of  the  town  was  later  changed  to  Aberdeen  in  honor 
of  his  native  place.  On  the  organization  of  Adams  County,  Ellis  was  appointed 
justice  of  the  peace,  which  ofl&ce  he  filled  until  his  death  in  1819. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  203 

his  tavern,  fine  farm  and  ferry.  He  and  his  wife  were  very 
civil,  attentive,  and  reasonable  in  their  charges,  and  he 
insisted  much  on  lending  me  a  horse  to  carry  me  the  first  six 
miles  over  a  hilly  part  of  the  road  to  Robinson's  tavern, 
but  I  declined  his  kindness,  and  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
9th  of  August,  after  taking  a  delightful  bath  in  the  Ohio, 
I  quitted  its  banks.  I  walked  on  towards  the  N.  E.  along 
the  main  post  and  stage  road  seventeen  miles  to  West 
Union, —  the  country  becoming  gradually  more  level  as  I 
receded  from  the  river,  but  not  quite  so  rich  in  soil  and  tim- 
ber. 

The  road  was  generally  well  settled,  and  the  woods 
between  the  settlements  were  alive  with  squirrels,  and  all 
the  variety  of  woodpeckers  with  their  beautiful  plumage, 
which  in  one  species  is  little  inferiour  to  that  of  the  bird  of 
Paradise,  so  much  admired  in  the  East  Indies. 

I  stopped  at  twelve  miles  at  the  house  of  squire  Leadham^ 
an  intelligent  and  agreeable  man,  who  keeps  a  tavern,  and  is 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  I  chose  bread  and  butter,  eggs  and 
milk  for  breakfast,  for  which  I  tendered  a  quarter  of  a  dollar, 
the  customary  price,  but  he  would  receive  only  the  half  of 
that  sum,  saying  that  even  that  was  too  much.  Such  in- 
stances of  modest  and  just  honesty  rarely  occur.^^^ 

West  Union  is  three  years  old  since  it  was  laid  out  for 
the  county  town  of  Adams  county.  The  lots  of  one 
third  of  an  acre  in  size,  then  sold  for  about  seventy  dollars 
each.  There  were  upwards  of  one  [182]  hundred  lots, 
which  brought  the  proprietor  above  three  thousand  dollars. 


''^  Cuming  was  following  the  road  known  as  Zane's  Trace,  laid  out  across 
Ohio  from  Wheeling  to  Maysville  in  1796.  From  Ellis's  Ferry  it  passed  northeast 
through  Adams  County,  up  Brush  Creek,  through  the  southwestern  comer  of 
Highland  County,  to  Byrington  and  through  Perry  Township  in  Pike  County, 
down  the  valley  of  Paint  Creek  to  Chillicothe. 

William  Leedom  (Leadham)  kept  a  tavern  where  Bentonville,  Adams  County, 
now  stands. —  Ed. 


204  B^arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

It  is  in  a  healthy  situation,  on  an  elevated  plain,  and  contains 
twenty  dwelling  houses,  including  two  taverns  and  three 
stores.  It  has  also  a  court-house  and  a  gaol,  in  the  former 
of  which  divine  service  was  performing  when  I  arrived  to  a 
numerous  Presbyterian  congregation.  One  of  the  houses 
is  well  built  with  stone ;  one  of  the  taverns  is  a  large  framed 
house,  and  all  the  rest  are  formed  of  square  logs,  some  of 
which  are  two  stories  high  and  very  good. 

Having  to  get  a  deed  recorded  at  the  clerk's  office  of  the 
county,  which  could  not  be  done  until  Monday  morning,  I 
stopt  Sunday  afternoon  and  night  at  West  Union,  where  my 
accommodations  in  either  eating  or  sleeping,  could  not 
boast  of  any  thing  beyond  mediocrity. 

Monday  the  loth  August,  having  finished  my  business 
and  breakfasted,  I  resumed  my  journey  through  a  country 
but  indifferently  inhabited,  and  at  four  miles  and  a  half  from 
West  Union,  I  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  Allen's  tavern,  at 
the  request  of  a  traveller  on  horseback,  who  had  overtaken 
and  accompanied  me  for  the  last  three  miles.  He  was  an 
elderly  man  named  Alexander,  a  cotton  planter  in  the  S.  W. 
extremity  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  owns  sixty-four  negro 
slaves  besides  his  plantation  —  all  acquired  by  industry  — 
he  having  emigrated  from  Larne  in  Ireland,  in  early  life, 
with  no  property.  He  was  now  going  to  visit  a  brother  in 
law  near  Chilicothe.  He  had  travelled  upwards  of  five 
hundred  mUes  within  the  last  three  weeks  on  the  same  mare. 
He  had  crossed  the  Saluda  mountains,  and  the  states  of 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  had  found  houses  of  accom- 
modation at  convenient  distances  all  along  that  remote 
road,  but  provender  so  dear,  that  he  had  to  pay  in  many 
places  a  dollar  for  half  a  bushel  of  oats. 

[183]  Allen's  is  a  handsome,  roomy,  well  finished  stone 
house,  for  which,  with  twenty  acres  of  cleared  land,  he 
pays  a  yearly  rent  of  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars,  to  Andrew 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  205 

Ellison,  near  Manchester."'  He  himself  is  four  years  from 
Tanderagee,  in  the  county  Armagh,  Ireland,  from  whence  he 
came  with  his  family  to  inherit  some  property  left  him  by  a 
brother  who  had  resided  in  Washington,  Kentucky,  but  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  adjoining  my  tract  near  Maysville, 
was  all  he  had  been  able  to  obtain  possession  of,  although 
his  brother  had  been  reputed  wealthy.  I  have  met  many 
Europeans  in  the  United  States,  who  have  experienced 
similar  disappointments. 

My  equestrian  companion  finding  that  I  did  not  walk  fast 
enough  for  him,  parted  from  me  soon  after  we  left  Allen's. 
At  two  miles  from  thence  I  came  to  Brush  creek,  a  beautiful 
river  about  sixty  yards  wide.  A  new  state  road  crosses  the 
river  here,  but  as  I  had  been  informed,  that  there  was  no 
house  on  it  for  ten  miles,  I  preferred  keeping  up  the  bank  of 
the  river  on  the  stage  road,  which  led  through  a  beautiful 
but  narrow  unsettled  bottom,  with  Brush  creek  on  the  right, 
and  a  steep,  craggy  precipice  on  the  left,  for  a  mile  and  a 
half.  I  then  ascended  and  descended  a  steep  and  barren 
ridge  for  a  mile,  when  I  forded  the  creek  to  Jacob  Platter's 
finely  situated  tavern  and  farm  on  the  opposite  bank. 

Having  rested  and  taken  some  refreshment,  the  growling 
of  distant  thunder  warned  me  to  hasten  my  journey,  as  I 
had  five  miles  through  the  woods  to  the  next  habitation. 
The  road  was  fine  and  level, —  the  gust  approached  with 


"•  The  Indian  captivity  of  Andrew  Ellison  is  a  well-known  tale  of  Ohio  pioneer 
life.  Authorities  dififer  in  details;  we  follow  the  tradition  handed  down  in  the  family. 
Andrew  Ellison,  bom  in  1755,  came  to  Kentucky  as  a  young  man,  and  in  1790 
accompanied  Massie  into  Ohio,  settling  near  Manchester.  One  day  in  1793, 
while  at  work  on  his  farm,  he  was  surprised  and  captured  by  a  band  of  Indians. 
Pursuit  failing  to  overtake  them,  Ellison  was  carried  to  the  Chillicothe  towns  where 
in  running  the  gauntlet  he  was  severely  beaten.  Later  being  taken  to  Detroit,  he 
was  ransomed  for  a  blanket  by  an  English  officer,  and  being  suppUed  with  food 
and  clothing  walked  back  across  the  state  of  Ohio,  arriving  at  his  home  in  the  early 
autumn.  Four  years  later,  he  took  up  a  large  tract  of  land  on  Brushy  Creek, 
building  thereon  a  stone  house  —  one  of  the  best  in  the  state  at  that  time. —  Ed. 


2o6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

terrifick  warning  —  one  flash  of  lightning  succeeding  another 
in  most  rapid  succession,  so  that  the  woods  frequently 
appeared  as  in  a  flame,  and  several  trees  were  struck  in  every 
direction  around  me,  one  being  shattered  within  fifty  paces 
on  my  right,  while  the  thunder  without  intermission  of  an 
instant  was  heard  in  every  variety  of  [184]  sound,  from  the 
deafening  burst,  shaking  the  whole  surrounding  atmosphere 
to  the  long  solemn  cadence  always  interrupted  by  a  new 
and  more  heavy  peal  before  it  had  reached  its  pause.  This 
elemental  war  would  have  been  sublimely  awful  to  me,  had  I 
been  in  an  open  country,  but  the  frequent  crash  of  the 
falling  bolts  on  the  surrounding  trees,  gave  me  such  inces- 
sant warnings  of  danger,  that  the  sublimity  was  lost  in  the 
awe.  I  had  been  accustomed  to  thunder  storms  in  every 
climate,  and  I  had  heard  the  roar  of  sixty  ships  of  the  line 
in  battle,  but  I  never  before  was  witness  to  so  tremenduous 
an  elemental  uproar.  I  suppose  the  heaviest  part  of  the  elec- 
trick  cloud  was  impelled  upon  the  very  spot  I  was  passing. 

I  walked  the  five  miles  within  an  hour,  but  my  speed 
did  not  avail  me  to  escape  a  torrent  of  rain  which  fell  during 
the  last  mile,  so  that  long  before  I  arrived  at  the  hospitable 
dwelling  of  the  Pennsylvania  hunter  who  occupied  the  next 
cabin,  I  was  drenched  and  soaked  most  completely.  I 
might  have  sheltered  myself  from  some  of  the  storm  under 
the  lee  side  of  a  tree,  had  not  the  wind,  which  blew  a  hurri- 
cane, varied  every  instant  —  but  independent  of  that,  I 
preferred  moving  along  the  road  to  prevent  a  sudden  chill; 
besides,  every  tree  being  a  conductor,  there  is  greater  danger 
near  the  trunk  of  one,  than  in  keeping  in  a  road,  however 
narrow,  which  has  been  marked  by  the  trees  having  been  cut 
down. 

My  host  and  his  family  had  come  here  from  the  back 
part  of  Pennsylvania  only  last  May,  and  he  had  already  a 
fine  field  of  corn  and  a  good  deal  of  hay.    He  had  hitherto 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  207 

been  more  used  to  the  chase  than  to  farming,  and  he  boasted 
much  of  his  rifle.  He  recommended  his  Pennsylvania 
whiskey  as  an  antidote  against  the  effects  of  my  ducking, 
and  I  took  him  at  his  word;  though  he  was  much  surprised 
to  see  me  use  more  of  it  externally  than  internally,  which  I 
did  from  experience  that  bathing  the  feet,  hands  and  head 
[185]  with  spirituous  liquor  of  any  sort,  has  a  much  better 
effect  in  preventing  chill  and  fever,  either  after  being  wet 
of  after  violent  perspiration  from  exercise,  than  taking  any 
quantity  into  the  stomach,  which  on  the  contrary  rarely 
fails  to  bring  on,  or  to  add  to  inflammatory  symptoms. —  A 
little  internally  however  I  have  found  to  be  a  good  aid  to  the 
external  application. 

I  found  at  my  friendly  Pennsylvanian's,  a  little  old  man 
named  Lashley,  who  had  taken  shelter  at  the  beginning  of 
the  gust,  which  being  now  over,  he  buckled  on  his  knapsack, 
and  we  proceeded  together.  He  had  travelled  on  foot  from 
Tennessee  river,  through  a  part  of  the  state  of  Tennessee, 
quite  across  Kentucky,  and  so  far  in  Ohio  in  nine  days,  at 
the  rate  of  thirty-six  miles  a  day.  He  had  assisted  in  navi- 
gating a  boat  from  Indian  Wheeling,  where  he  lived,  to 
Tennessee,  for  which  he  had  got  thirty  dollars,  ten  of  which 
he  had  already  expended  on  his  journey  so  far  back,  though 
using  the  utmost  economy.  He  remarked  to  me,  that 
although  he  was  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age,  and  appar- 
ently very  poor,  he  had  not  got  gratuitously  a  single  meal 
of  victuals  in  all  that  route.  Are  not  hospitality  and 
charity  more  nominal  than  real  virtues  ? 

The  country  for  the  next  five  miles  is  tolerably  well  im- 
proved, and  there  is  a  good  brick  house  which  is  a  tavern 
owned  by  one  Wickerham  at  the  first  mile,  and  a  mile 
further  is  Horn's  tavern,  where  the  stage  sleeps  on  its  route 
to  the  N.  E.  towards  Chilicothe. 

Old  Lashley  complaining  of  fatigue,  we  stopped  at  Mar- 


2o8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

shon's  farm  house,  ten  miles  from  Brush  creek,  where  find- 
ing that  we  could  be  accommodated  for  the  night,  we  agreed 
to  stay,  and  were  regaled  with  boiled  com,  wheaten  griddle 
cake,  butter  and  milk  for  supper,  which  our  exercise  through 
the  day  gave  us  good  appetites  for,  but  I  did  not  enjoy  my 
bed  so  [186]  much  as  my  supper,  notwithstanding  it  was  the 
second  best  in  the  house,  for  besides  that  it  was  not  remark- 
able for  its  cleanliness,  I  was  obliged  to  share  it  with  my  old 
companion;  fatigue  however  soon  reconciled  me  to  it,  and  I 
slept  as  well  as  if  I  had  lain  on  down  between  lawn  sheets. 

Marshon  is  from  the  Jerseys,  he  has  a  numerous  family 
grown  up,  and  is  now  building  a  large  log  house  on  which 
he  means  to  keep  a  tavern.  Three  of  his  sons  play  the  violin 
by  ear  —  they  had  two  shocking  bad  violins,  one  of  which 
was  of  their  own  manufacture,  on  which  they  scraped  away 
without  mercy  to  entertain  us,  which  I  would  most  gladly 
have  excused,  though  I  attempted  to  seem  pleased,  and  I 
believe  succeeded  in  making  them  think  I  was  so. 

The  land  is  here  the  worst  I  had  seen  since  I  had  left 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio;  it  had  been  gradually  worse  from 
about  two  miles  behind  squire  Leadham's,  and  for  the  last 
two  miles  before  we  come  to  Marshon' s  it  had  degene- 
rated into  natural  prairies  or  savannas,  with  very  little  wood, 
and  none  deserving  the  name  of  timber,  but  well  clothed 
with  brush  and  low  coarse  vegetation. 

[187]    CHAPTER  XXX 

Heistant's  —  Lashley  goes  on  before  —  Sinking  springs  — 
Fatiguing  road  —  Broadley's  —  Musical  shoemaker  — 
Talbot's  —  Dashing  travellers  —  Bainbridge  —  Platter's 
—  Irish  schoolmaster  —  Reeves's  —  Paint  creek  —  Cat- 
tail swamp  —  Rogers's  North  fork  of  Paint  —  Arrival 
at  Chilicothe  —  Meeker's. 

On  Tuesday  morning  the  nth  August,  we  arose  with 
the  dawn,  and  notwithstanding  there  was  a  steady  small 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  209 

rain,  we  pursued  our  journey,  having  first  paid  Marshon 
fully  as  much  for  our  simple  and  coarse  accommodations, 
as  the  best  on  the  road  would  have  cost,  but  our  host  I  sup- 
pose thought  his  stories  and  his  son's  musick  were  equivalent 
for  all  other  deficiencies. 

The  land  was  poor,  and  no  house  on  the  road  until  we 
arrived  at  Heistant's  tavern,  four  miles  from  Marshon's, 
where  we  met  the  Lexington  stage. 

My  morning  walk  had  given  me  an  appetite  for  break- 
fast, which  my  fellow  traveller  not  being  willing  to  be  at 
the  expence  of,  declined,  and  saying  that  as  I  walked  so 
much  faster  than  him  I  would  soon  overtake  him,  he  went 
on,  intending  to  satisfy  his  stomach  occasionally  with  some 
bread  and  cheese  from  his  knapsack,  and  a  drop  of  whiskey 
from  his  tin  canteen,  from  which  he  had  made  a  libation  at 
first  setting  out,  and  had  seemed  surprised  at  my  refusal  of 
his  invitation  to  partake. 

Heistant  is  a  Pennsylvania  German,  and  has  a  good  and 
plentiful  house,  in  a  very  pleasant  situation,  called  the 
Sinking  springs,  from  a  great  natural  Curiosity  near  it. 
On  the  side  of  a  low  hill,  now  in  cultivation,  are  three  large 
holes,  each  about  twenty  feet  deep  and  twenty  feet  diameter, 
about  sixty  paces  apart,  with  a  subterraneous  communica- 
tion by  which  the  water  is  conveyed  from  one  to  the  other, 
and  issues  in  a  fine  rivulet  at  a  fourth  opening  near  the 
[188]  house,  where  Heistant's  milk  house  is  placed  very 
judiciously.  The  spring  is  copious  and  the  water  very 
fine.^" 

After  a  good  breakfast  I  walked  on  alone,  and  at  about  a 
mile,  I  entered  on  a  dreary  forest  having  first  passed  Irwin's 
tavern,  a  pleasant  situation  where  the  stage  sleeps  going 
towards  the  S.  westward.  Three  miles  from  Irwin's,  is 
over  very  broken,  but  well  timbered  hills,  to  the  left  of  which 

"'  Sinking  Springs  is  in  the  southwestern  comer  of  Highland  County,  Ohio. —  Ed. 


2IO  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

on  Brush  creek,  I  was  informed,  that  there  is  a  fine  set- 
tlement, but  it  is  not  in  sight  of  the  road.  The  next  two 
miles  was  through  a  beech  bottom,  which  was  rendered  so 
miry  by  the  rain  that  poured  on  me  all -the  time,  that  it  was 
most  laborious  walking  through  it.  About  the  middle  of  it, 
I  met  three  men  in  hunting  shirts  with  each  an  axe  in  his 
hand.  Their  appearance  in  that  solitary  situation  was  no 
ways  agreeable ;  however,  we  gave  each  other  good  day,  and 
they  told  me  that  old  Lashley  had  desired  them  to  inform 
me  that  he  would  await  me  at  Bradley's,  the  next  house,  but 
when  I  came  there,  he  had  just  departed,  so  that  I  might 
have  very  soon  overtaken  him,  had  I  not  preferred  being 
alone,  to  effect  which  the  more  certainly,  I  stopped  to  rest, 
as  it  was  a  house  of  private  entertainment.  Bradley  and  his 
wife  are  about  sixteen  years  from  Stewartstown,  county 
Tyrone  in  Ireland,  and  have  a  daughter  lately  married  to  a 
young  shoemaker  named  Irons  at  the  next  cabin,  where  I 
stopped  to  get  my  shoes  mended.  I  here  found  a  dozen  of 
stout  young  fellows  who  had  been  at  work  repairing  the 
road,  and  were  now  sheltering  themselves  from  the  increas- 
ing storm,  and  listening  to  some  indifferent  musick  made  by 
their  host  on  a  tolerably  good  violin.  I  proposed  taking 
the  violin  while  he  repaired  my  shoes.  He  consented 
and  sat  down  to  work,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  had  all 
the  lads  jigging  it  on  the  floor  merrily;  Irons  himself,  as 
soon  as  he  had  repaired  the  shoes,  jumping  up  and  joining 
them. 

[189]  Seeing  no  prospect  of  the  storm  ceasing,  I  satisfied 
my  shoemaker  for  his  trouble,  with  something  more  agreeable 
to  him  than  my  musick,  and  then  set  off  to  reach  Talbot's, 
said  to  be  a  good  tavern,  three  miles  furthen 

The  road  led  over  the  highest  hill  which  I  had  yet  seen 
since  I  left  the  Ohio,  and  afterwards  through  a  level,  well 
wooded,  but  thinly  inhabited  country. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  211 

In  an  hour  I  was  at  Talbot's,  which  is  a  good  two  story 
house  of  squared  logs,  with  a  large  barn  and  excellent 
stabling,  surrounded  by  a  well  opened  and  luxuriant  farm, 
with  a  fine  run  of  meadow. 

The  landlord  and  his  family  are  seven  years  from  Nenagh 
in  the  county  Tipper^ry,  and  is  the  first  Irish  settler,  I 
had  seen  on  my  tour,  from  any  other  part  than  the  north  of 
Ireland.  He  had  kept  Ellis's  ferry  on  the  Ohio,  where 
Powers  now  resides,  for  some  years,  and  has  lately 
rented  this  house  and  farm  from  Mr.  Willis  of  Chilicothe, 
the  contractor  for  carrying  the  mail  from  Wheeling  to  Lex- 
ington. 

Observing  a  new  stage  wagon  in  the  yard,  my  host  in- 
formed me  that  it  was  one  which  Mr.  Willis  intended  in  a 
few  days  to  commence  running  between  Chilicothe  and 
Ellis's  ferry,  so  that  it,  and  the  one  already  established,  will 
each  run  once  a  week  on  different  days. 

I  shifted  my  wet  clothes,  and  then  (there  being  no  doctor 
nearer  than  Chilicothe,  twenty-four  miles)  prescribed  medi- 
cine and  regimen  for  Talbot's  little  daughter,  who  was 
suffering  under  a  severe  and  dangerous  attack  of  a  nervous 
fever. 

Three  young  men  on  horseback  arrived  soon  after  me, 
and  were  shewn  into  the  same  room.  They  talked  a  little 
largely,  according  to  a  very  common  custom  among  young 
travellers,  intimating  that  they  were  just  returning  from  the 
Olympian  springs  in  Kentucky,  a  place  of  very  fashionable 
resort,  where  they  had  been  on'a  party  of  pleasure,  and  where 
they  [190]  had  attended  more  to  cards,  billiards,  horse 
jockeying,  &c.  than  to  the  use  of  the  waters  for  medicinal 
purposes.  I  am  however  much  mistaken,  if  they  had  not 
been  travelling  on  business,  and  took  the  opportunity  of 
visiting  those  celebrated  springs,  which  are  the  Bath  of 
Kentucky,  and  which  they  now  affected  to  speak  of  as  the 


212  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

sole  cause  of  their  journey."^  I  listened  with  much  amuse- 
ment to  their  dashing  conversation,  knowing  tolerably  well 
how  to  estimate  it,  in  a  country  where  vanity  in  the  young 
and  ambition  among  the  more  advanced  in  life  are  predomi- 
nant features.  I  do  not  confine  this  remark  to  the  state  of 
Ohio,  where  probably  there  is  less  of  either  than  in  the  older 
states,  in  which,  particularly  to  the  southward  of  New  Eng- 
land, they  seem  to  be  national  characteristics. 

We  supped  together  and  were  then  shewn  to  our  beds 
by  the  landlord,  who  probably  thought  that  the  custom  of 
two  in  a  bed  was  general  in  America,  by  his  shewing  the 
whole  four  into  a  room  with  two  beds:  I  followed  him  how- 
ever down  stairs,  and  soon  had  a  good  bed  prepared  for  me 
in  a  room  by  myself. 

On  Wednesday  morning  the  12  th  August,  I  proceeded 
through  a  wilderness  of  fine  land  well  adapted  for  cultiva- 
tion, and  finely  timbered  to  Bainbridge,  a  hamlet  of  eight 
cabins,  a  large  stone  house  building,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a 
post-office,  and  a  store  kept  by  William  Daly  for  Hum- 
phrey Fullerton  of  Chilicothe.  Daly  told  me  that  he  had  a 
good  deal  of  business  for  the  five  months  he  had  been  here, 
there  being  a  populous  and  well  cultivated  country  in  the 
neighbourhood  on  Buckskin  and  Paint  creeks,  at  the  falls 
of  the  latter  of  which,  about  a  mile  to  the  northward  of 
Bainbridge  are  some  of  the  best  mills  in  the  state,  owned 
by  Gen.  Massey,  who  is  also  proprietor  of  Bainbridge, 
which  he  laid  out  for  a  town  about  a  year  ago,  selling  the 
lots  at  about  thirty  dollars  each. 

[191]  The  reason  assigned  for  the  lands  being  generally 
so  badly  settled  along  the  roads,  is,  that  they  belong  to  wealthy 
proprietors,  who  either  hold  them  at  a  very  high  price,  or 
will  not  divide  them  into  convenient  sized  farms. 

"'  Oljnnpian  Springs  was  in  Bath  County,  Kentucky,  a  few  miles  southeast  of 
Owingsburg.  Its  popularity  has  declined;  in  1880  there  were  but  twenty-five 
inhabitants  at  the  place. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  213 

From  Bainbridge  to  Reeves's  on  the  bank  of  Paint  creek, 
is  through  a  fine  well  wooded  level,  with  hills  in  sight  from 
every  opening  in  the  woods,  about  a  mile  distant.  I  passed 
a  finger  post  on  the  left,  a  mile  from  Bainbridge,  pointing 
to  the  westward  and  directing  to  Cincinnatti  seventy-three 
miles,  and  immediately  after  I  left  Platter's  tavern  and  well 
cultivated  farm  on  the  right,  a  little  beyond  which  is  a 
school-house,  where  I  observed  the  school-master,  an  Irish 
looking  old  man,  with  silver  grey  locks  and  barefooted,  his 
whole  appearance,  and  that  of  the  cabin  which  was  the 
school,  indicating  but  little  encouragement  for  the  dissemi- 
nating of  instruction. 

A  mile  from  Platter's  I  stopped  at  Reeves's,  where  I  had 
been  informed  I  could  be  well  accommodated,  although 
it  was  not  a  tavern,  and  I  proved  my  information  to  be  cor- 
rect, as  I  immediately  got  the  breakfast  I  asked  for,  excel- 
lent bread,  and  rich  milk,  neatly  served,  in  a  large  handsome 
and  clean  room,  for  which  it  was  with  difficulty  I  could  pre- 
vail on  Mrs.  Reeves  to  accept  any  recompence. 

This  house  is  charmingly  situated  near  the  bank  of  Paint 
creek,  and  was  the  best  I  had  seen  since  I  entered  the  state 
of  Ohio,  it  being  spacious,  of  two  lofty  stories,  and  well 
built  with  very  handsome  stone.  It  is  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  a  noble  and  well  improved  farm,  which  nine  years 
ago,  when  Reeves  came  here  from  Washington  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  a  wilderness.  He  built  his  handsome  house  about 
five  years  ago,  and  at  some  distance  on  the  bank  of  the 
creek,  he  has  a  large  tanyard  and  leather  shop,  from 
whence  one  of  his  men,  ferried  me  across  the  creek  in  a 
canoe. 

[192]  Paint  creek  is  a  beautiful  little  river  about  forty 
yards  wide,  running  easterly  to  join  the  Scioto  near  Chili- 
cothe. 

My  walk  from  hence  to  the  north  fork  of  Paint  creek, 


214  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

was  a  most  fatiguing  one,  being  thirteen  miles,  mostly  along 
a  very  rich  bottom,  with  the  creek  on  the  right,  and  steep 
hills  on  the  left,  over  spurs  of  which  the  road  sometimes 
leads,  which  was  always  a  relief  to  me,  after  wading  for 
miles  through  the  mud  below.  This  tract  is  tolerably  well 
settled,  the  soil  being  esteemed  as  rich  as  any  in  the  state. 
At  eleven  miles  from  Reeves's,  is  a  hamlet  of  six  or  seven 
cabins  called  Cat-tail  swamp,  and  two  miles  further  I  came 
to  Rogers's  on  the  bank  of  the  north  fork  of  Paint. 

Reeves's  appears  to  be  the  best  land  and  the  best  improved 
farm  on  this  side  the  Ohio,  but  Rogers's,  nearly  as  good  a 
soil,  is  I  think  superiour  in  beauty  of  situation.  The  house 
which  is  a  story  and  a  half  high  is  of  square  logs,  and  com- 
modious enough  for  a  farm  house.  It  is  on  a  moderately 
high  bank,  from  whence  they  descend  to  the  river  by  a  flight 
of  wooden  steps,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  most  beautiful 
spring  which  flows  into  a  cask  sunk  on  purpose,  and  from 
thence  is  conveyed  by  a  small  spout  into  the  river,  whose  bank 
is  guarded  by  a  natural  wall  of  soft  slate,  which  I  think 
could  be  easily  wrought  into  good  covering  for  houses. 
Nature  has  formed  natural  stairs  of  the  slate,  by  which  one 
may  descend  to  any  depth  into^the  river  for  bathing,  washing 
linen,  or  for  any  purpose  which  may  be  necessary,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  river  rises  or  falls.  A  swimmer  may  also 
enjoy  that  invigorating  exercise  charmingly,  as  though  the 
river  is  only  about  thirty  yards'  wide,  it  is  at  this  place 
sufficiently  deep,  and  the  current  is  moderate.  Rogers 
has  been  here  about  nine  years  from  Virginia,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

[193]  I  supped  and  slept  here,  and  next  morning,  Thurs- 
day the  13th  August,  after  refreshing  by  swimming  in  the 
river,  I  pursued  my  way  to  Chilicothe  four  miles,  the  first 
mile  and  half  of  which  was  over  a  chain  of  moderately  high 
and  not  very  steep  hills  of  a  tolerably  good  soil,  to  colonel 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  215 

M'Arthur's  elegant  stone  house  and  noble  farm."^  The 
other  two  miles  and  a  half  was  through  a  level  plain,  pass- 
ing a  neat  house  and  handsome  improvement  of  Mr.  Henry 
Massey's,  just  before  entering  Chilicothe,  which  I  did  at 
eight  o'clock,  stopping  at  Muker's  tavern,  as  the  breakfast 
bell  rang,  which  summoned  seventeen  or  eighteen  boarders 
and  travellers  to  an  excellent  breakfast  with  good  attend- 
ance, to  which  I  did  ample  justice,  after  my  bath  and  walk. 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

The  Scioto  —  Chilicothe  —  Indian  monument  —  Fine  pros- 
pect —  Colonel  M'Arthur's  —  Colonel  Worthington's. 

Chilicothe,  which  signifies  town  in  most  of  the  Indian 
dialects,  is  most  beautifully  situated  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Scioto,  about  forty-five  miles  by  land,  and  nearly  seventy 
following  its  meanders  from  the  confluence  of  that  river 
with  the  Ohio,  between  Portsmouth  and  Alexandria.  In  all 
that  distance  the  river  has  a  gentle  current,  and  unimpeded 
navigation  for  large  keels,  and  other  craft  for  four  feet 
draught  of  water.  It  continues  navigable  for  smaller 
boats  and  batteaux  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles  above 
Chilicothe,  towards  its  source  to  the  northward,  from  whence 
it  glides  gently  through  a  naturally  rich,  level,  and  rapidly 
improving  country. 

"'  The  home  of  General  McArthur  was  known  as  ' '  Fruit  Hill.' '  Duncan 
McArthur  was  of  Scotch  parentage,  bom  in  New  York  in  1772.  Left  early  to 
his  own  resources,  he  volunteered  under  Harmar  in  1791,  worked  at  the  Maysville 
salt-works,  and  in  1793  became  chain-bearer  for  General  Massie  in  the  latter's 
survey  of  Ohio  lands.  McArthur's  industry  and  capacity  soon  secured  his  pro- 
motion to  the  position  of  assistant  surveyor,  and  by  judicious  choice  of  lands  he 
acquired  wealth  and  prominence.  Having  been  major-general  of  Ohio  militia 
for  some  years,  his  services  were  called  for  in  the  War  of  1812-15,  and  he  was  at 
Detroit  when  it  was  surrendered  by  Hull.  Released  on  parole,  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  whence  he  resigned  to  become  brigadier-general  in  the  army,  and  served 
in  the  Western  division  thereof  throughout  the  war.  Later  began  his  political 
career,  consisting  of  two  terms  in  Congress  (1822-26),  and  the  governorship  of 
Ohio  (1830).  But  as  an  anti-Jacksonian,  he  feiiled  of  re-election,  and  retired  to 
"Fruit  Hill"  where  he  died  in  1840.—  Ed. 


2 1 6  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[194]  The  situation  of  the  town,  which  is  the  capital  of 
the  state.""  is  on  an  elevated  and  extensive  plain  of  nearly 
ten  thousand  acres  of  as  fine  a  soil  as  any  in  America, 
partly  in  cultivation  and  partly  covered  with  its  native  for- 
ests. 

This  plain  is  nearly  surrounded  by  the  Scioto,  which 
turning  suddenly  to  the  N.  E.  from  its  general  southerly 
course,  leaves  the  town  to  the  southward  of  it,  and  then 
forms  a  great  bend  to  the  eastward  and  southward. 

Water  street  which  runs  about  E.  by  N.  parallel  to  the 
Scioto,  is  half  a  mile  long,  and  contains  ninety  houses.  It 
is  eighty-four  feet  wide,  and  would  be  a  fine  street,  had  not 
the  river  floods  caved  in  the  bank  in  one  place  near  the  mid- 
dle, almost  into  the  centre  of  it.  There  is  now  a  lottery 
on  foot,  to  raise  money  for  securing  the  bank  against  any 
further  encroachments  of  the  river.  Main  street,  parallel 
to  Water  street,  is  one  hundred  feet  wide,  as  is  Market  street 
which  crosses  both  at  right  angles,  and  in  which  is  the 
market-house,  a  neat  brick  building  eighty  feet  long.  The 
court-house  in  the  same  street  is  neatly  built  of  freestone, 
on  an  area  of  forty-five  by  forty-two  feet,  with  a  semicir- 
cular projection  in  the  rear,  in  which  is  the  bench  for  the 
judges.  It  has  an  octangular  belfry  rising  from  the  roof, 
painted  white  with  green  lattices,  which  is  an  ornament  to 
the  town,  as  is  the  small  plain  belfry  of  the  Presbyterian 
meeting-house,  a  handsome  brick  building  in  Main  street; 
in  which  street  also  is  a  small  brick  Methodist  meeting- 
house. These  are  the  only  places  of  publick  worship  in 
the  town,  if  I  except  the  court-house,  which  is  used  occa- 
sionally by  the  Episcopalians  and  other  sects. 

[195]  The  whole  number  of  dwelling  houses  in  Chilicothe, 
as  I  counted  them,  is  two  hundred  and  two,  besides  four 

**"  By  a  law  of  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  the  seat  of  the  state  government 
was  removed  to  Zanesville,  on  the  Muskingum  river. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  217 

brick  and  a  few  framed  ones  now  building.  I  reckoned  only- 
six  taverns  with  signs,  which  small  proportion  of  houses  of 
that  description,  speaks  volumes  in  favour  of  the  place. 
There  are  fourteen  stores,  a  post-office,  and  two  printing- 
offices,  which  each  issues  a  gazette  weekly."^ 

The  scite  of  the  town  being  on  a  gravelly  soil,  the  streets 
are  generally  clean.  The  houses  are  of  freestone,  brick, 
or  timber  clap-boarded,  the  first  of  which  is  got  in  the 
neighbourhood,  is  of  a  whitish  brown  colour,  and  excellent 
for  building.  They  are  mostly  very  good  and  are  well 
painted. 

On  the  whole  I  think  Chilicothe  is  not  exceeded  in  beauty 
of  plan,  situation,  or  appearance,  by  any  town  I  have  seen  in 
the  western  part  of  the  United  States. 

There  is  a  remarkable  Indian  monument  in  Mr.  Watch- 
up's  garden  in  the  very  heart  of  the  town. —  Like  that  at 
Grave  creek,  it  is  circular  at  the  base,  about  seventy  or- 
eighty  feet  diameter,  but  dififers  from  that,  by  being  round, 
instead  of  flat  on  the  top,  which  has  an  elevation  of  about 
thirty  feet  perpendicular  from  the  level  of  the  plain.  It  is 
formed  of  clay,  and  though  it  has  been  perforated  by  the 
proprietor,  nothing  has  been  found  to  justify  the  common 
opinion  of  these  mounts  having  been  barrows  or  cemeteries. 
They  talk  of  having  it  levelled,  as  it  projects  a  little  into 
Market  street,  but  I  think  it  a  pity  to  destroy  any  of  the 
very  few  vestiges  of  aboriginal  population,  which  this 
country  presents  to  the  curious  and  inquisitive  traveller. 

From  a  steep  hill,  about  three  hundred  feet  perpendicular 
height,  just  outside  the  western  extremity  of  the  town,  is  a 
most  charming  view  of  the  streets  immediately  below,  under 
the  eye  like  a  plan  on  paper:  Then  the  Scioto,  from  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  [196]  and  fifty  yards  wide,  winding 

"^^  These  were  the  Scioto  Gazette  and  The  Supporter,  the  latter  a  Federalist 
paper  in  existence  from  1807  to  182 1. —  Ed. 


2 1 8  Karly  Western  Travels  jYol.  4 

on  the  left,  and  some  low  hills  about  two  miles  beyond  it 
terminating  the  view,  to  the  N.  E.  while  to  the  eastward  and 
westward,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  both  ways,  is  spread 
a  country,  partly  flat,  and  partly  rising  in  gentle  swells, 
which  if  cultivation  proceeds  in  equal  proportion,  to  what 
it  has  done  since  Chilicothe  was  first  laid  out  about  ten 
years  ago,  must,  in  a  very  short  time  present  one  of  the 
finest  landscapes  imaginable. 

Colonel  M' Arthur  coming  to  town  was  polite  enough  to 
invite  me  to  take  a  bed  at  his  house,  which  I  had  passed  about 
two  miles  back  in  the  morning.  I  found  the  situation  sur- 
passed what  I  had  thought  of  it  then,  when  I  only  saw  it  from 
the  road,  it  commanding  a  beautiful  and  extensive  prospect 
including  the  town  of  Chilicothe,  which,  however  is  now  seen 
rather  indistinctly  on  account  of  the  foliage  of  some  trees 
on  the  brow  of  a  small  projecting  hill,  which  will  probably 
soon  be  cut  down. 

Next  morning,  Friday,  14th  August,  I  walked  before 
breakfast  half  a  mile  through  the  woods  to  the  northward, 
to  an  elegant  seat  belonging  to  Col.  Worthington."^  It  will 
be  finished  in  a  few  weeks  and  will  be  one  of  the  best  and 
most  tasty  houses  not  only  of  this  state,  but  to  the  westward 
of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  It  is  about  sixty  feet  square, 
with  a  square  roof,  and  two  large  receding  wings.  It  has 
two  lofty  stories,  with  six  rooms  on  each  floor,  and  cellars 

^^  Colonel  Thomas  Worthington  was  a  Virginian  who  had  emigrated  to  Ohio 
in  1798.  He  liberated  over  forty  slaves  on  coming  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  and 
was  a  pronounced  upholder  of  free  labor.  His  services  for  his  adopted  state  were 
considerable.  The  year  after  his  first  arrival  he  was  sent  to  the  territorial  legis- 
latiu-e;  in  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  (1802)  it  was  Colonel  Worthington 
who  proposed  the  northward  extension  of  the  boundary.  Turning  to  national 
affairs,  he  represented  Ohio  in  the  United  States  Senate  for  two  terms  (1803-07; 
1810-14),  and  returned  to  serve  as  governor  of  his  adopted  state  for  four  years 
(1815-19).  His  remaining  years  were  given  to  service  in  the  State  legislature, 
developing  the  common-school  system,  championing  sound  finance  and  internal 
improvements.  He  died  in  New  York  City  in  1827.  The  home  of  which  Cuming 
here  speaks  was  knovra  as  "  Adena,"  and  is  still  standing. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  219 

and  vaults  beneath.  The  wings  contain  kitchen,  scullery, 
apartments  for  servants,  &c. 

Like  colonel  M'Arthur's  it  is  built  with  freestone,  but  the 
stone  of  the  front  is  all  hewn  and  squared,  like  the  generality 
of  the  houses  in  the  new  part  of  Glasgow  in  Scotland,  the 
stone  being  very  similar  both  in  colour  and  quality.  The 
situation  is  like  Col.  M'Arthur's,  being  on  the  brow  of  the 
same  ridge  of  hills,  and  affording  nearly  the  same  prospects. 
Both  houses  were  built  by  two  young  Virginians  of  the 
[197]  name  of  Morris,  who  are  almost  self  taught  masons 
and  architects,  and  whose  work  and  style  does  them  much 
credit. 

I  returned  to  town  on  Friday  after  breakfast,  and  dined, 
supped  and  slept  at  Muker's,  which  is  a  very  good  and  well 
frequented  inn,  and  at  five  o'clock  on  Saturday  the  15th 
August,  I  left  Chilicothe  in  the  stage  with  a  Mr.  M'Cammon 
of  Charleston  and  two  other  passengers. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

Congo  —  Crouse's  mill  —  Pickaway  plains  —  Beautiful 
prairies  —  Tarleton  and  Lybrant's  excellent  inn  —  Ves- 
tiges of  a  great  fire  —  River  Hockhocking  —  New  Lan- 
caster —  Babb's  —  Jonathan's  creek  —  Springfield  — 
River  Muskingum  and  falls  —  Zanesville. 

We  crossed  the  Scioto  at  a  ferry  from  the  town,  the  stage 
and  four  horses  being  all  carried  over  in  the  boat. 

The  first  two  miles  were  over  a  rich  bottom,  subject  to 
inundation  from  the  river  floods  in  the  winter.  We  had 
then  three  miles  of  a  hilly  country  to  Congo,  a  fine  settlement 
in  and  round  a  beautiful  prairie,  a  mile  long  to  Crouse's 
mill.  This  Crouse  is  a  wealthy  man,  having  a  good  house 
and  ofi&ces,  a  farm  of  two  sections,  containing  thirteen 
hundred  acres,  and  an  excellent  mill  house  and  mill  wrought 
by  a  creek  which  crosses  the  road  and  falls  into  the  Scioto 


220  Bjarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  \ 

half  a  mile  on  the  left.  Another  mile  brought  us  to  Rickey's 
tavern,  from  whence  a  road  leads  to  the  left  to  Pickaway 
Plains,  which  is  a  noble  and  rich  prairie,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Scioto,  fourteen  miles  long,  formerly  a  principal  set- 
tlement of  the  Indians,"^  and  [198]  now  well  inhabited  by 
their  white  successors,  who  have  a  town  called  Levingston 
on  the  Prairie. 

From  Rickey's  to  M'Cutchin's  tavern  is  four  miles, 
across  a  beautiful  savanna,  variegated  with  clumps  of  trees, 
and  fine  groves,  with  farms  at  every  half  mile.  We  here 
stopped  for  a  few  minutes  to  water  the  horses,  and  I  ex- 
changed my  seat  in  the  stage,  with  a  Mr.  Willis  of  Chili- 
cothe,"*  who  had  accompanied  us  on  horseback,  on  his  way 
to  the  federal  city,  Washington,  to  make  some  arrangements 
respecting  the  mails.  The  exchange  suited  us  both,  as  on 
horseback  I  had  a  better  view  of  the  country,  and  his  health 
being  delicate,  he  preferred  the  stage. 

The  next  six  miles  were  through  a  thinly  wooded  but 
rich  plain,  with  a  farm  every  mile,  and  a  tavern  every  three 
miles.  The  road  was  so  far  level  but  very  miry,  then  another 
mile  and  a  half  over  some  hilly  and  broken  land  brought 
us  to  Lybrant's  tavern. 

Had  I  not  been  informed,  I  should  not  have  known  that 

^^  Pickaway  Plains,  in  Pickaway  County  south  of  Circleville,  was  said  to  con- 
tain the  richest  land  in  Ohio.  It  was  a  noted  rendezvous  for  the  Shawnees;  from 
hence  started  the  army  that  Lewis  defeated  at  Point  Pleasant  (1774),  and  here  at  a 
camp  which  he  called  Camp  Chariotte  in  honor  of  the  queen,  Lord  Dunmore  made 
the  peace  that  ended  the  war.  Here,  also,  Chief  Logan's  famous  speech  was  de- 
livered.—  Ed. 

***  Nathaniel  Willis,  the  grandfather  of  the  poet  by  that  name,  was  a  printer, 
who  prided  himself  on  having  been  a  participant  in  the  Boston  Tea-party.  During 
the  Revolution,  he  was  proprietor  of  the  Boston  Independent  Chronicle.  On  peace 
being  declared,  he  went  to  Virginia,  and  at  Martinsburg  published  for  a  few  years 
the  Potomac  Guardian.  Tempted  by  reports  from  the  new  territory,  he  once  more 
removed  and  established  (probably  in  1800)  the  Scioto  Gazette  at  Chillicothe,  the 
third  newspaper  of  the  state.  He  was  also,  for  a  time,  state  printer,  and  as  Cuming 
informs  us  connected  with  the  forwarding  of  the  mail. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  221 

I  was  now  in  the  town  of  Tarleton,  as  there  was  but  one 
other  house  besides  the  tavern;  three  or  four  more  were 
however  just  going  to  be  built,  and  our  landlord  had  no 
doubt  of  its  soon  becoming  a  smart  town.  The  lots  Were 
sold  at  from  sixteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  each. 

Ly brant's  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  reasonable  inns  I 
had  met  with  in  my  tour.  At  one  o'clock  we  set  down  to  a 
most  excellent  breakfast  of  good  coffee,  roast  fowls,  chicken 
pie,  potatoes,  bread  and  butter,  and  cucumbers  both  sliced 
and  pickled,  all  not  only  good,  but  delicate  and  fine  even 
to  the  pastry,  which  is  very  uncommon  in  this  country,  and 
our  charge  was  only  a  quarter  of  a  dollar. 

For  eight  miles  from  Tarleton,  the  road  runs  through 
low,  rich  and  miry  black  oak  woods,  and  now  and  then  a 
small  prairie,  and  settlements  not  [199]  nearer  each  other 
than  every  two  miles.  The  country  then  rising  into  hills 
the  road  improves,  but  it  continues  equally  thinly  inhabited, 
the  settlements  being  mostly  on  what  is  called  the  old  county 
road,  which  runs  parallel  to  the  state  road  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  to  the  northward  of  it,  and  is  better  and  shorter  by  a 
mile  between  Chilicothe  and  New  Lancaster. 

After  riding  a  mile  among  the  hills  I  passed  Stukey's 
tavern,  for  six  miles  beyond  which  the  face  of  the  country 
is  very  picturesque;  the  tops  of  the  hills  terminating  in 
rocks,  some  impending  and  some  perpendicular,  while  the 
road  leads  through  a  defile  winding  round  their  bottoms. 
The  whole  country  is  covered  with  dwarf  oak,  and  other  low 
shrubs  and  bushes  and  some  thinly  scattered  black  oaks  of 
stunted  growth.  This  scarcity  of  timber  is  partly  owing 
to  the  poverty  of  the  soil,  and  partly  to  the  effect  of  fire, 
which  must  have  gone  through  this  whole  district  of  six  or 
seven  miles,  and  that  at  no  very  distant  period  back,  from 
many  evident  marks  still  remaining.  What  a  grand  yet 
awful  scene  must  have  been  such  a  tract  of  woods  in  flames ! 


22  2  Fjurly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

There  is  no  house  for  three  miles  from  Stukey's  tavern, 
and  from  that  to  within  a  mile  of  New  Lancaster,  there  are 
but  two  other  settlements. —  Then,  on  descending  a  low  hill, 
and  emerging  from  the  woods  into  an  extensive  natural 
meadow  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Hockhocking,  that  town 
presents  itself  suddenly  to  view,  well  situated  on  a  rising 
ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  making  a  better 
appearance  at  that  distance  than  it  has  on  entering  it.  A 
wooden  bridge  crosses  the  river,  which  is  here  only  a  rivulet 
just  below  the  town,  and  here  I  passed  a  number  of  men 
engaged  in  racing  their  horses. 

New  Lancaster"^  is  a  compact  little  town  of  one  wide 
street,  about  six  hundred  paces  long,  containing  [200]  sixty 
houses,  amongst  which  is  a  neat  little  court  house  of  brick, 
forty-two  by  thirty-six  feet,  just  built,  with  a  cupola  belfry. 
There  are  six  stores  and  nine  taverns.  There  is  but  one 
brick  house,  all  the  rest  being  of  wood,  amongst  which  con- 
spicuously the  best  is  that  of  Mr.  Bucher  a  lawyer.  In 
most  towns  in  the  United  States,  the  best  houses  are  chiefly 
inhabited  by  gentlemen  of  that  profession. 

After  supping  at  the  inn  where  the  stage  stopped,  I  was 
shewn  to  bed  up  stairs  in  a  barrack  room  the  whole  extent 
of  the  house,  with  several  beds  in  it,  one  of  which  was  already 
occupied  by  a  man  and  his  wife,  from  the  neighbouring 
country,  who  both  conversed  with  me  until  I  feigned  sleep, 
in  hopes  that  would  silence  them,  but  though  they  then 
ceased  to  direct  their  discourse  to  me,  they  continued  to  talk 
to  each  other  on  their  most  private  and  domestick  affairs,  as 
though  there  had  been  no  other  person  in  the  room.    In 

'^  The  site  of  New  Lancaster  had  previously  been  that  of  a  well-known  Indian 
village  called  Standing  Stone  from  an  eminence  in  the  vicinity.  It  was  the  most 
southwestern  town  of  the  Delawares  in  Ohio,  and  was  also  called  French  Mar- 
garet's Town,  because  a  daughter  of  Madame  Montour  had  at  one  time  resided 
therein.  As  an  American  settlement  it  was  laid  out  by  Zane  in  1800;  later,  "New" 
was  dropped  from  its  title  by  legislative  enactment. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  223 

spite  of  their  conversation  I  at  last  fell  asleep,  but  I  was 
soon  awoke  in  torture  from  a  general  attack  made  on  me  by 
hosts  of  vermin  of  the  most  troublesome  and  disgusting 
genii.  I  started  from  the  bed,  dressed  myself,  spread  a 
coverlet  on  the  floor,  and  lay  down  there  to  court  a  little 
more  repose,  but  I  was  prevented  by  a  constant  noise  in  the 
house  during  the  whole  night,  beginning  with  church 
musick,  among  which  some  sweet  female  voices  were  dis- 
cernible, and  ending  in  the  loud  drunken  frolicks  of  some 
rustick  guests,  who  kept  Saturday  night  until  late  on  Sunday 
morning. 

Previous  to  going  to  bed  I  had  sauntered  round  the  town, 
and  I  observed  all  the  taverns  filled  with  guests  in  the  rough- 
est style  of  conviviality,  from  which  I  infer  that  the  last  day 
of  the  week  is  generally  devoted  to  the  orgies  of  Bacchus; 
by  the  same  classes  of  people  who  on  the  succeeding  day, 
attend  with  pious  regularity  the  dogmatick  lectures  of  some 
fanatick  dispenser  of  the  gospel.  What  an  heterogeneous 
[201] animal  is  man!  —  sometimes  exalted  to  an  approach 
towards  divinity,  sometimes  debased  to  lower  than  brutality: 
— A  perpetual  struggle  between  the  essence  and  the  dregs. 

The  dawn  of  morning  relieved  me  from  my  uncomfortable 
couch,  and  going  down  stairs,  I  found  all  as  silent  as  an 
hour  before  it  had  been  noisy.  I  walked  out  into  the  town, 
where  the  same  stillness  prevailed,  so  I  lounged  along  the 
banks  of  the  Hockhocking  enjoying  the  morning  air,  until  a 
thick  mist  rising  with  the  sun  envelopped  me,  when  I  re- 
turned to  the  inn  and  finding  the  stage  ready  to  depart,  I 
again  mounted  Mr.  Willis's  horse,  and  set  out  in  advance 
of  it. 

Leaving  New  Lancaster  and  the  fog  below,  I  proceeded 
eighteen  miles  through  a  hilly  country,  with  settlements 
within  every  mile,  many  of  which  were  taverns.  I  then 
stopped  at  Babb's,  the  sign  of  the  house,  appropriate  to  its 


224  F^arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

being  the  half  way  house  between  Lancaster  and  Zanesville. 
Here  an  old  father,  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  (spruce, 
well  formed  girls,  with  a  most  wonderful  volubility  of 
tongue)  worried  we  with  questions,  until  I  excused  myself 
from  further  gratifying  their  inexhaustible  curiosity  by 
pleading  fatigue,  and  throwing  myself  on  a  bed,  I  awaited 
the  arrival  of  the  stage,  about  an  hour,  when  we  got  an 
excellent  breakfast,  every  article  of  which  served  as  a  topick 
for  conversation  to  our  garrulous  entertainers,  who  affected 
to  know  a  little  of  every  thing  and  of  every  body. 

Nine  miles  from  Babb's,  through  a  similar  country  and 
very  bad  road  with  houses  and  taverns  as  in  the  morning, 
brought  me  to  Jonathan's  creek,  a  handsome  little  river, 
about  twenty  yards  wide,  which  I  forded.  The  road  was 
now  generally  level  seven  miles  to  Springfield,  mostly 
through  pleasant  and  rich  little  bottoms,  with  the  creek  close 
on  the  right  more  than  half  the  way,  and  the  country  so 
thickly  [202]  inhabited,  that  was  it  not  for  the  dead  girdled"" 
trees  every  where  in  the  com  and  wheat  fields  and  meadows, 
it  would  have  the  appearance  of  an  old  settlement. 

About  a  mile  from  Springfield  I  passed  through  a  fine 
plain  of  a  light  sandy  soil  very  proper  for  small  grain,  such 
as  wheat,  rye  and  oats,  which  has  been  cleared  previous  to 
this  country  being  known  to  the  whites.  It  is  now  covered 
with  dwarf  oak,  hazle,  and  other  copse  wood,  and  contains 
probably  fifteen  hundred  acres. 

Springfield  is  a  long  straggling  village,  on  a  fine  flat, 
sheltered  on  the  north  by  a  small  chain  of  low  but  abrupt 
hills,  and  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  beautiful  river  Mus- 
kingum.   The  road  or  street  is  of  clean  gravel,  and  the 


**•  A  hasty  and  temporary  way  of  clearing  land,  by  notching  the  bark  all  round 
the  trunks  of  the  large  trees,  which  kills  them,  and  in  a  few  years  they  fall  by  their 
own  top  weight  aided  by  the  least  gust  of  wind,  if  not  cut  down  in  the  interim  at  the 
increasing  leisure  of  the  cultivator. —  Ckam£r. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  22,5 

cabins  are  distinguished  from  those  I  had  hitherto  seen  by 
their  chimneys  of  brick,  instead  of  stone  or  logs.  There 
are  some  good  brick  houses  building,  and  some  taverns  and 
some  stores,  which  give  it  a  thriving  appearance.  There  is 
also  a  fine  grist  and  saw  mill  at  the  falls  of  the  Muskingum  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  town.  That  river  is  about  a  hundred 
yards  wide  at  the  ferry  just  below  the  falls,  which  are  formed 
by  its  being  precipitated  in  a  sheet,  over  a  rock  of  about  three 
feet  perpendicular  depth,  which  extends  quite  across,  and  is 
a  fine  object  in  the  surrounding  picturesque  scenery.  An- 
other good  object  is  a  cliff  impending  over  the  falls,  which 
terminates  the  chain  of  low  hills  behind  Springfield. 

I  crossed  the  ferry  to  Zanesville,  and  dismounted  at  an 
inn  where  the  stage  generally  stops.  On  entering  I  walked 
into  a  room,  the  door  of  which  was  open,  where  the  first 
object  that  met  my  eye  was  the  [203]  corpse  of  a  female,  laid 
out  in  her  shroud  on  a  bier.  There  was  no  person  in  the 
room  but  another  female  who  was  seated  near  the  corpse, 
and  to  whom  I  apologized  for  my  abrupt  entrance,  explain- 
ing my  reasons  as  being  in  advance  of  the  stage.  She  an- 
swered by  wishing  she  had  some  mode  of  preventing  the 
stage  from  driving  up  to  the  house,  as  her  sister  had  died 
that  morning,  and  it  would  be  inconvenient  to  accommo- 
date travellers  that  night,  on  which  I  remounted,  rode  to 
the  post  office,  where  I  found  the  stage  delivering  the  mail, 
from  whence  in  consequence  of  my  information,  the  driver 
took  us  to  Harvey's  very  good  inn,  where  we  found  an 
excellent  supper,  clean  beds,  a  consequential  host  and 
hostess,  and  the  highest  charges  I  had  hitherto  paid  in 
Ohio. 

Zanesville  was  laid  out  for  a  town  six  or  seven  years  ago. 
It  contains  forty  houses  much  scattered  and  does  not  seem 
to  thrive  so  much  as  Springfield,  which  is  only  two  or  three 
years  old,  contains  fifty  houses,  and  bids  fair  to  become  of 


226  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

more  consequence  than  Zanesville,"^  notwithstanding  the 
latter  is  the  county  town  of  Muskingum  county.  It  was 
named  after  Mr.  Zane  of  Wheeling,  who  as  a  recompense  for 
opening  the  first  road  from  Wheeling  to  Chilicothe,  got  a 
grant  of  three  sections  of  land  of  six  hundred  and  forty 
acres  each.  On  one  section  he  founded  Zanesville;  on' 
another,  New  Lancaster,  and  the  third  is  part  of  the  rich 
bottom  on  the  bank  of  the  Scioto  opposite  to  Chilicothe. 

[204]    CHAPTER  XXXIII 

Brown's  —  Extensive  prospect  —  Anticipation  —  Ensloe's — 
Will's  creek  plains  —  Will's  creek  —  European  and 
American  drivers  compared  —  Cambridge  —  Beymer's  — 
Drove  of  cattle  —  Two  travelling  families  —  Good  efifects 
of  system. 

On  Monday  17th  August,  I  proceeded  from  Zanesville 
before  breakfast.  The  first  nine  miles  were  through  a  hilly 
country  with  houses  every  mile  or  two,  the  road  tolerably 
good  except  in  a  few  steep  or  miry  spots.  I  then  passed 
Brown's  tavern,  most  romantically  situated  in  a  deep  and 
narrow  valley,  with  Salt  creek,  a  rivulet  which  I  crossed, 
running  through  it.  Two  genteel  looking  travellers  were 
at  Brown's  door  as  I  passed.  It  was  about  breakfast  time. 
My  appetite  tempted  me  to  stop  and  join  them,  but  reflecting 
the  stage  would  then  get  before  me,  I  repressed  it,  and  trotted 
on  towards  the  usual  place  of  breakfast  of  the  stage. 

From  Salt  creek,  I  ascended  half  a  mile  of  a  steep  road 
to  the  highest  hill  which  I  had  been  yet  on  in  this  state,  and 
keeping  two  miles  along  its  ridge,  I  had  there  to  ascend  a 
still  higher  pinnacle  of  it,  from  whence  there  is  a  most  ex- 

**'  Since  it  has  been  determined  that  Zanesville  is  to  be  the  seat  of  the  state 
government  at  least  for  a  time,  the  town  is  making  a  rapid  progress  in  population, 
buildings,  and  improvements  generally.  The  country  around  it  is  also  opening 
into  fine  farms  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Furnaces  and  forges  are  erecting  in  the 
neighbourhood,  saw  and  grist  mills,  and  a  paper  mill  not  far  distant. —  Cramer. 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  227 

tensive  view  in  every  direction,  of  ridges  beyond  ridges 
covered  with  forests,  to  the  most  distant  horizon ;  but  though 
grand  and  extensive,  it  is  dreary  and  cheerless,  excepting 
to  a  mind  which  anticipates  the  great  change  which  the 
astonishingly  rapid  settlement  of  this  country  will  cause  in 
the  face  of  nature  in  a  few  revolving  years.  Such  a  mind 
will  direct  the  eye  ideally  to  the  sides  of  hills  covered  with 
the  most  luxuriant  gifts  of  Ceres;  to  valleys  divested  of  their 
trees,  and  instead  of  the  sombre  forest,  strengthening  the 
vision  with  their  verdant  herbage,  while  the  rivers  and  brooks, 
no  [205]  longer  concealed  by  woods,  meander  through  them 
in  every  direction  in  silvered  curves,  resplendent  with  the 
rays  of  a  glowing  sun,  darting  through  an  unclouded  atmos- 
phere; while  the  frequent  comfortable  and  tasty  farm 
house  —  the  mills  —  the  villages,  and  the  towns  marked 
by  their  smoke  and  distant  spires,  will  cause  the  traveller 
to  ask  himself  with  astonishment,  "So  short  a  time  since, 
could  this  have  been  an  uninhabited  wilderness  ? ' ' 

This  lofty  ridge  continues  with  various  elevations  five 
miles  and  a  half  farther  to  Ensloe's  tavern,  and  is  well  in- 
habited all  the  way,  and  well  timbered,  though  the  soil  is 
rather  light.  I  here  stopped  to  await  the  stage  and  break- 
fast, after  which  I  rode  on  through  a  hilly  country,  rather 
thinly  inhabited,  five  miles,  and  then  three  more  on  a  flat, 
of  the  most  wretched  road  imaginable,  from  the  frequency  of 
sloughs  of  stiff  mud  and  clay.  Travellers  have  ironically 
nicknamed  this  part  of  the  road  Will's  creek  plains.  It  is 
really  almost  impassable  for  even  the  strong  stage  wagons 
which  are  used  here. 

After  getting  safely  through  the  plains,  and  a  mile  further 
over  a  ridge,  I  came  to  Will's  creek,  which  is  a  small  muddy 
river  with  a  very  slow  current.  The  banks  are  steep  and 
the  bottom  muddy,  so  that  it  has  to  be  crossed  by  a  wooden 
bridge,  which  has  become  extremely  dangerous,  from  some 


228  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

of  the  posts  having  been  unplaced  by  floods,  so  that  it  is 
shelving,  one  side  being  a  good  deal  higher  than  the  other, 
and  the  balustrade  is  so  much  decayed  that  it  would  not 
support  a  man,  much  less  a  carriage,  yet  bad  as  it  was,  I 
had  to  pay  a  toll  of  an  eighth  of  a  dollar  for  my  horse. 
Though  the  European  drivers  far  exceed  the  American  in 
dexterity  and  speed,  on  their  fine  roads,  in  this  country 
they  would  be  good  for  nothing,  and  would  pronounce  it 
impossible  to  get  a  carriage  through  roads,  that  the  Ameri- 
can driver  dashes  through  without  a  thought. —  So  much 
for  habit. 

[206]  On  crossing  the  bridge,  I  was  astonished  to  find 
myself  in  a  town  of  cabins  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  which 
I  had  heard  nothing  of  before.  It  is  called  Cambridge, 
and  was  laid  out  last  year  by  Messrs.  Gumbar  and  Beattie 
the  proprietors,  the  first  of  whom  resides  in  it.  The  lots 
sell  at  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  dollars  each.  There  are  now 
twelve  cabins  finished  and  finishing,  each  of  which  contains 
two  or  three  families;  about  as  many  more  and  some  good 
houses,  are  to  be  commenced  immediately.  The  settlement 
being  very  sudden,  there  was  not  as  yet  house  room,  for  the 
furniture,  utensils,  and  goods  of  the  settlers,  those  articles 
were  therefore  lying  out  promiscuously  about  the  cabins. 
The  settlers  are  chiefly  from  the  island  of  Guernsey,  near 
the  coast  of  France,  from  whence  eight  families  arrived  only 
four  months  ago. 

I  think  Cambridge  bids  fair  to  become  the  capital  of  a 
county  very  soon."*  The  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  are 
equal  in  richness  of  soil  to  any  I  have  seen  on  this  side  of 
Paint  creek  bottoms  near  Chilicothe. 

Four  miles  from  hence  through  a  hilly  country,  brought 
me  to  Beymer's  tavern,  passing  a  drove  of  one  hundred 

***  Cambridge  was  made  the  seat  of  Guernsey  County  when  the  latter  was 
established  in  1811. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  229 

and  thirty  cows  and  oxen,  which  one  Johnston  was  driving 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Lexington  in  Kentucky,  to 
Baltimore.  The  intercourse  between  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  United  States  is  now  so  common,  that  imported 
merchandize  is  wagonned  all  the  way  to  Chilicothe  and  the 
intermediate  towns,  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore, 
nearly  six  hundred  miles,  and  then  retailed  as  cheaply  as  at 
the  ports  of  entry. 

The  drover  with  six  assistants,  two  horsemen,  two  family 
wagons,  and  the  stage  wagon,  put  up  at  Beymer's  for  the 
night,  so  that  the  house  which  was  only  a  double  cabin, 
was  well  filled,  though  not  so  much  crowded  as  might  have 
been  expected,  as  the  cattle  drivers  made  a  fire  and  encamped 
without  doors,  convenient  to  where  they  had  penned  the 
cattle,  and  [207]  one  of  the  travelling  families  slept  in  their 
wagon. —  This  family  consisted  of  a  man  and  his  wife,  and  a 
neighbour's  daughter,  who  had  removed  to  this  state  last 
year,  from  near  Washington  in  Pennsylvania,  and  were  now 
returning  two  hundred  miles  for  some  effects  they  had  left 
behind.  The  other  family,  named  Hutchinson,  had  emi- 
grated from  Massachusetts  to  Franklinville  in  this  state, 
four  years  ago.  By  clearing  and  cultivating  a  farm  and 
keeping  a  store,  a  distillery,  and  a  saw  mill,  and  then  selling 
their  property  at  its  increased  value,  they  had  in  that  short 
time  acquired  a  sufficiency  to  think  themselves  independent, 
and  were  now  returning,  to  settle  in  some  place  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Albany,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  where  the 
old  man  said,  "he  would  be  once  more  in  the  world.' '  The 
systematick  order  which  this  family  observed  in  travelling, 
and  the  comparative  ease  and  comfort  they  enjoyed  in 
consequence,  were  circumstances  noticed  by  me  with  much 
admiration.  The  family  consisted  of  Hutchinson  and  his 
wife,  two  daughters  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  years  of  age, 
a  grown  up  son  they  called  doctor,  another  son  about  ten, 


230  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

and  a  young  man  who  had  had  the  charge  of  the  mill,  and 
who  still  continued  with  the  family.  They  had  a  wagon, 
with  four  horses,  and  a  saddle  horse  rode  by  one  of  the  girls. 
On  their  stopping,  the  daughters  began  directly  to  prepare 
supper,  as  though  they  were  at  home,  baked  bread  enough  to 
serve  them  that  night  and  next  day,  and  then  they  sat  down 
to  sewing  as  composedly,  as  if  they  had  been  in  their  own 
house,  and  not  on  a  journey;  while  the  boys  took  care  of  the 
horses,  and  the  old  couple,  though  still  active  and  healthy, 
sat  at  their  ease,  chatting  and  enjoying  themselves.  At  all 
events  they  were  reaping  the  benefit  of  having  brought  up 
their  family  in  orderly  and  industrious  habits,  and  the 
cheerfulness  and  hilarity  which  pervaded  each  individual, 
was  a  proof  that  they  were  all  equally  [208]  sensible  of  the 
blessings  which  their  own  good  conduct  had  put  them  in  the 
enjoyment  of. 

I  had  a  good  supper  and  bed,  and  found  Beymer's  double 
cabin  a  most  excellent  house  of  accommodation.  He  is  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  stage  wagons,  and  owns  very  con- 
siderable property  in  the  state. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

Proceed  on  foot  —  Washington  —  Frankfort  —  Morristown 
—  Usual  consequences  of  a  militia  muster  —  St.  Clairs- 
ville  —  Another  traveller  —  Indian  Wheeling  —  Canton  — 
River  Ohio  and  Zane's  island  —  Wheeling  —  Part  with 
my  fellow  traveller. 

On  Tuesday  the  i8th  August,  the  stage  being  only  to  go 
fifteen  miles,  and  the  same  distance  next  day,  on  account  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  carriage  of  the  mails,  rather  than 
travel  such  a  snail's  pace,  I  proceeded  on  foot,  leaving  my 
baggage  to  follow  in  the  stage.  The  first  five  miles  were 
excellent  road,  over  a  long  but  not  very  high  ridge  of  hills, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  231 

without  a  single  house  to  Washington,  or  Beymerstown,  as 
it  is  more  generally  called,  from  its  being  owned  by  the 
family  of  Beymer,  two  of  whom  keep  taverns  in  it. —  It  has 
twelve  cabins,  four  of  which  are  taverns,  and  a  blacksmith's 
shop. 

Four  and  a  half  miles  further  have  no  inhabitants;  the 
road  is  still  good,  but  is  led  over  several  high,  short  and  steep 
ridges,  which  generally  run  from  north  to  south.  Then 
passing  a  cabin  and  farm,  in  half  a  mile  more  I  came  to 
Frankfort  or  Smithstown,  where  I  breakfasted.  This  is  a 
small  village  or  rather  hamlet  of  eight  or  ten  houses  and 
cabins,  some  of  which,  as  well  as  several  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, are  inhabited  by  families  from  Peeks-hill  in  New 
York,  many  of  whom  regret  their  having  removed  [209]  from 
thence  to  this  place,  and  with  great  reason,  if  one  may 
judge  from  the  appearance  of  the  soil,  which  is  all  a  red 
and  yellow  clay,  very  stiff,  and  apparently  very  unproduc- 
tive. 

The  country  now  became  better  settled,  but  still  continued 
very  hilly.  I  walked  on,  passing  Wherry's  tavern  where  the 
stage  was  to  sleep  at  five  miles,  and  stopping  at  Bradshaw's, 
where  I  rested  about  half  an  hour,  and  got  some  refreshment. 
This  family  is  from  the  county  Monaghan  in  Ireland. 
Their  house  is  too  small  for  an  inn,  but  they  have  a  good 
farm.  Ten  miles  further  brought  me  to  Morristown, 
through  a  similar  hilly  country,  with  a  succession  of  woods 
and  farms,  the  latter  at  every  mile,  and  a  tavern  at  every 
two  miles. 

On  the  road  I  met  in  straggling  parties  above  fifty  horse- 
men with  rifles,  who  had  been  in  Morristown  at  a  militia 
muster,  for  the  purpose  of  volunteering,  or  of  being  drafted 
to  serve  against  Britain,  in  case  of  a  war  with  that  country, 
now  much  talked  of.     Most  of  them  were  above  half  seas 


232  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

over,  and  they  travelled  with  much  noise  —  some  singing, 
some  swearing,  some  quarrelling,  some  laughing,  according 
to  their  different  natural  dispositions,  which  are  always 
most  manifest  when  in  that  unguarded  situation. 

I  found  Morristown,  where  I  arrived  just  before  dark,  all 
in  a  bustle  from  the  same  cause,  many  of  the  country  people 
remaining  to  a  late  hour,  drinking  and  fighting. 

My  host  Morrison  who  is  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  a 
major  of  the  militia,  had  shut  his  house  against  them,  but 
there  was  another  tavern,  where  squire  Morrison,  while  com- 
manding the  peace,  during  an  affray,  came  in  for  his  share 
of  the  blows,  and  had  his  shirt  torn. 

I  got  a  very  good  supper  —  bathed  my  feet  and  went  to 
bed  in  a  room  where  a  man  and  his  wife,  a  young  married 
couple,  in  another  bed,  acted  over  a  [210]  similar  scene  to 
what  I  had  experienced  at  New  Lancaster,  keeping  me 
awake  chatting  to  me  until  a  very  late  hour. 

After  a  short  but  sound  sleep,  I  awoke  at  an  early  hour 
well  refreshed,  and  pushed  on  eleven  miles  to  St.  Clairsville, 
through  a  fine,  well  improved,  and  well  inhabited  country, 
which  was  still  hilly,  but  the  ridges  were  neither  so  steep 
nor  so  high,  as  they  are  in  general  at  this  side  of  Chili- 
cothe. 

I  stopped  at  Thompson's  stage  inn,  where  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son who  was  very  civil,  prepared  me  a  good  breakfast. 

St.  Clairsville,  or  Newelstown,  as  it  is  more  frequently 
improperly  called,  is  the  capital  of  Belmont  county,  and  is 
pleasantly  situated  on  the  point  and  top  of  the  highest  hill 
within  sight,  from  whence  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  of  ridges 
and  woods  may  be  seen  in  every  direction,  some  of  them 
across  the  Ohio,  which  I  was  now  again  approaching.  The 
town  is  only  about  four  years  old,  and  already  contains  eighty 
good  houses,  including  several  stores  and  taverns.     It  has  a 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  233 

court-house  and  gaol,  and  altogether  it  has  the  greatest 
appearance  of  wealth  and  business  of  any  town  between 
Chilicothe  and  itself.  There  are  several  Quakers,  settled 
in  the  neighbourhood,  who  are  a  snug,  wealthy  and  indus- 
trious people,  and  who'  enhance  the  value  of  real  property 
in  a  wide  extent  around  the  focus  of  their  settlements. 

Leaving  St.  Clairsville  at  eleven  o'clock,  I  joined  a  foot- 
man named  Musgrave,  who  was  going  to  Morgantown  in 
Virginia,  to  collect  money  to  pay  off  some  incumbrances  on 
his  lands  below  Limestone.  He  was  a  plain  man,  but  an 
intelligent,  expeditious  and  economical  traveller,  whose 
company  shortened  the  road  to  Wheeling.  It  is  a  well  set- 
tled country  and  a  fine  road,  the  first  six  miles  from  St. 
Clairsville.  We  then  descended  a  long  hill  into  the  river 
bottom  of  Indian  Wheeling,  where  we  came  to  a  good  grist 
[211]  and  saw  mill.  Keeping  down  that  fine  little  mill 
river  five  miles  to  its  confluence  with  the  Ohio,  we  forded  it 
five  times  in  that  distance. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  is  a  new  town  called  Canton, 
laid  out  by  Mr.  Zane  last  year,  which  has  now  thirteen 
houses.  We  here  crossed  a  ferry  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
Zane's  island,  which  we  walked  across,  upwards  of  half  a 
mile,  through  a  fertile,  extensive,  and  well  cultivated  farm, 
the  property  of  Mr.  Zane,  some  of  whose  apples,  pulled  from 
the  orchard  in  passing,  were  very  refreshing  to  us,  while  we 
sat  on  the  bank  nearly  an  hour  awaiting  the  ferry  boat. 
At  last  the  boat  came,  and  we  crossed  the  second  ferry  of 
another  quarter  of  a  mile  to  Wheeling. 

Here  my  fellow  traveller  took  leave  of  me,  purposing  to 
go  five  or  six  miles  further  ere  night,  though  it  was  now  five 
o'clock,  and  we  had  already  walked  upwards  of  thirty  miles 
since  morning. 


234  Fjurly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

Economy  of  my  late  fellow  traveller  —  Proceed  towards 
Washington  —  Fine  view  of  Wheeling  and  the  Ohio  — 
Lose  my  road  —  Get  right  again  by  descending  a  preci- 
pice—  A  fine  valley  with  several  handsome  seats  and 
mills  —  Stop  at  Mr.  Eoff's  —  A  well  regulated  family  — 
Little  Wheeling  creek  —  An  obliging  traveller  —  Roney's 
point  —  Beautiful  and  picturesque  country  —  Alexandria 
or  Hardscramble  —  M'Crackan's  —  Good  effects  of  tem- 
perance and  cleanliness  in  travelling. 

I  STOPPED  at  Knox's  inn,  where  I  asked  for  some  beer, 
not  daring  to  drink  wine  or  spirits.  They  had  none,  so  I 
walked  out  to  a  small  house  where  I  had  observed  on  a 
sign  Beer  and  Cakes.  On  entering  [212]  I  found  Musgrave 
making  a  hearty  meal  on  a  cent  roll  and  a  pint  of  beer.  He 
appeared  as  glad  to  see  me  again  as  if  we  had  been  old 
acquaintances,  and  had  been  long  parted,  and  was  easily 
prevailed  on  to  make  a  second  libation  with  me  to  the  pros- 
perous termination  of  our  journies,  in  that  humble,  but 
wholesome  and  refreshing  beverage.  I  then  returned  to 
Elnox's,  where  I  supped  and  slept.  Next  morning  at  dawn, 
I  took  a  plunge  in  the  river,  and  after  breakfast,  finding  my 
strength  invigorated  and  my  spirits  renovated  by  the  cold 
bath,  I  continued  my  journey  on  foot  by  the  most  direct 
road  to  Washington,  instead  of  awaiting  for  the  stage  accord- 
ing to  my  first  intention,  as  it  had  to  go  ten  miles  out  of 
the  direct  road  to  deliver  the  mail  at  Charlestown. 

I  set  out  at  half  past  nine  o'clock,  and  soon  gained  the 
top  of  the  hill  immediately  over  Wheeling,  from  whence 
there  is  a  handsome  bird's  eye  view  of  that  town,  Zane's 
island  in  fine  cultivation,  the  two  ferries  across  the  Ohio, 
and  the  village  of  Canton  beyond;  while  on  the  left  the  Ohio 
is  seen  winding  among  hills  five  or  six  miles  below,  and  the 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  235 

view  is  bounded  in  that  direction,  by  one  ridge  rising  beyond 
another  to  a  great  distance.  Turning  round  on  the  narrow 
ridge  over  which  the  road  leads,  I  had  Wheeling  creek 
directly  under  me  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice,  it  running  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  make  the  scite  of  the  town  with  the  hill 
behind,  almost  a  peninsula,  between  it  and  the  Ohio. 

I  had  proceeded  about  a  mile,  when  meeting  a  traveller, 
of  whom  I  inquired,  I  found  I  had  taken  a  wrong  road,  in 
consequence  of  which  I  had  to  descend  a  steep  precipice 
on  my  right,  letting  myself  down  with  my  hands  from  one 
tree  to  another,  to  the  bottom.  Here  I  got  into  the  right 
road,  which  follows  the  meanders  of  the  creek  up  a  fine 
valley  that  has  been  settled  about  thirty  years,  and  is  now  in  a 
state  of  excellent  cultivation. 

[213]  At  two  miles  from  Wheeling  I  passed  a  very  hand- 
some house,  a  fine  farm,  and  a  mill  of  a  Mr.  Woods  on  the 
left.  Here  I  could  not  help  being  struck  with  the  difference 
of  appearance  between  this  wooden  house  painted  white, 
with  green  jalousie  window  shutters  and  red  roof,  and  the 
stone  and  brick  houses  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  much  in 
favour  of  the  former,  however  better  in  reality  the  latter  may 
be.  A  mile  farther  I  passed  Mr.  Chaplin's  fine  merchant 
mill,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond  that,  where  the 
valley  narrows,  I  observed  on  the  left,  some  very  remarkable 
large  loose  rocks,  which  seem  to  have  fallen  from  a  rocky 
cliff  which  impends  above. 

Half  a  mile  beyond  this,  I  stopped  at  a  Mr.  Eoff's  neat 
cottage  and  good  farm,  where  every  thing  had  an  air  of 
plenty  and  comfort.  Four  or  five  genteel  looking  young 
women  were  all  engaged  in  sedentary  domestick  avocations, 
and  an  old  lady  served  me  with  some  milk  and  water  which 
I  had  requested,  after  which  I  resumed  my  walk. 

A  mile  up  the  side  of  the  creek  brought  me  to  Mr.  Shep- 


236  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

herd's  mill,  and  elegant  house  of  cut  stone."^  Here  the 
creek  forks  and  the  road  also,  one  of  the  forks  called  Big 
Wheeling  coming  from  the  S.  E.  and  the  right  hand  road 
leading  along  it  to  Morgantown;  the  left  fork  called  Little 
Wheeling,  which  forms  Mr.  Shepherd's  mill  race,  coming 
from  the  eastward,  and  my  road  towards  Washington  lead- 
ing along  it,  through  a  narrow  valley  with  small  farms, 
wherever  a  bottom  or  an  easy  declivity  of  the  hills  would 
permit. 

I  was  here  overtaken  by  a  man  on  horseback,  who  very 
courteously  insisted  on  my  riding  his  horse,  while  he  walked 
above  a  mile.  He  was  a  county  T3n'one  man  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  settled  twelve  years  in  America,  the  last  six  of 
which  has  been  in  this  neighbourhood,  where  he  cultivated 
a  farm  with  good  success.  Indeed  industry  and  sobriety  is 
all  [214]  that  is  necessary  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  to 
the  westward  of  the  mountains,  to  insure  a  comfortable 
independence  in  a  very  few  years. 

My  companion  stopping  at  a  house  on  the  road,  I  again 
proceeded  alone  to  M'Kinley's  tavern,  four  miles  from 
Shepherd's.  I  here  left  the  creek  on  the  left,  crossing  a 
smaller  one  which  falls  into  it  from  the  right,  and  I  then 
ascended  a  steep  and  high  hill,  called  Roney's  point,  from 
its  being  the  point  of  a  ridge,  and  first  owned  by  one  Roney. 
It  was  above  half  a  mile  to  the  top  of  hill,  from  whence  a 
fine,  thickly  settled  and  well  cultivated,  but  very  hilly 
country  broke  on  my  view,  beautifully  variegated  with 
cornfields  in  tassel  —  wheat  and  oat  stubble  —  meadows  — 
orchards  —  cottages  —  and  stacks  of  grain  and  hay  innu- 
merable, with  a  small  coppice  of  wood  between  every  plan- 
tation. 


""  This  was  the  home  of  Moses  Shepherd,  son  of  one  of  the  most  prominent 
pioneers  of  this  region.  For  a  sketch  of  his  career,  see  Harris's  Journal,  vol.  iii  of 
this  series,  p.  348,  note  35.  —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  237 

Descending  a  little,  a  mile  and  a  half  further  brought  me 
to  William  Trusdale's  cottage,  where  I  rested,  and  refreshed 
with  some  buttermilk  and  water,  and  then  went  on  through 
the  same  kind  of  country,  four  miles  from  Trusdale's,  to 
the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  boundary  line,  half  a  mile 
beyond  which  I  entered  the  village  of  Alexandria.  A  gust 
approaching  fast  I  stopped  about  half  an  hour  at  John 
Woodbum's  tavern.  This  village  is  named  from  a  Mr. 
Alexander,  the  proprietor  of  the  soil,  and  is  nicknamed 
Hardscramble,  either  from  the  hilly  roads  by  which  one 
arrives  at  it,  or  from  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  first 
settlers  to  obtain  a  subsistence.  It  contains  about  a  dozen 
houses  and  cabins,  a  meeting  house,  and  three  taverns,  but 
it  does  not  seem  to  thrive.^^" 

After  the  gust  I  proceeded  six  miles  through  a  very  fine 
country,  charmingly  variegated,  but  hilly,  to  M'Crackan's 
tavern.  The  rain  had  rendered  the  road  so  slippery,  that 
I  could  travel  but  slowly,  so  that  it  was  almost  dark  when  I 
arrived  there. 

[215]  I  found  another  traveller  in  the  house,  who  was 
going  from  the  western  part  of  Massachusetts  near  Albany, 
to  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  as  an  agent  to  dispose  of 
some  large  tracts  of  land  there,  owned  by  some  people  in 
Albany.  Having  got  some  thickened  milk  for  supper,  and 
bathed  my  feet  in  cold  water,  I  had  a  fine  night's  rest. 

I  would  not  mention  so  often  my  mode  of  living  and 
treating  myself  while  on  this  journey,  only  to  shew  the  good 
effects  of  temperance  and  cleanliness,  which  enabled  me, 
though  in  so  warm  a  season,  to  travel  either  on  foot  or  on 
horseback,  without  fatigue  or  injury  to  my  constitution. 

"°  On  the  origin  of  the  name  Alexandria,  and  the  eariy  history  of  the  town,  see 
Harris's  Journal,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  348,  note  33. —  Ed. 


238  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

Fine  morning  —  Clement's  tavem  —  Washington  —  Go  on 
in  the  stage  —  Meet  an  acquaintance  —  Canonsburgh  — 
Morganza  —  Colonel  Plummer's  —  Coal  Hill  —  Fright- 
ful road  —  Charming  views  —  Monongahela  ferry  —  Ar- 
rive at  Pittsburgh. 

Thursday,  twenty-first  August,  I  walked  on  with  the 
first  dawn  of  a  fine  morning,  nothing  being  wanting 
to  render  it  delightful,  except  the  carrol  of  the  winged 
inhabitants  of  the  woods,  which  throughout  this  whole 
country  is  very  rare.  I  stopped  to  rest  a  few  minutes  at 
Clement's  tavem,  five  miles  on  the  road,  where  I  found  a 
number  of  young  men  and  women  up,  and  drest  decently, 
and  even  genteelly,  though  so  early;  indeed  many  of  them 
had  the  appearance  of  not  having  been  in  bed  all  night. 
On  inquiry  I  learned  that  there  had  been  a  wedding  here 
last  night,  which  had  occasioned  such  a  concourse  of  young 
people.  Several  of  the  males  joined  [216]  the  landlord  in 
civilly  pressing  me  to  take  my  morning  dram  of  bitters  with 
them,  and  they  were  not  a  little  astonished  at  my  excusing 
myself,  and  requesting  in  lieu,  a  little  milk  and  water. 

Wishing  to  arrive  in  Washington  in  time  to  join  the  stage 
for  Pittsburgh,  I  walked  very  fast,  on  a  good  road,  through 
a  pleasant  but  hilly  country,  and  got  to  M'Cammont's 
tavem,  as  the  family  were  rising  from  breakfast.^"  The 
table  was  however  soon  replenished  with  plenty  and  variety, 
to  which  I  did  ample  justice  from  the  excellent  effect  on 
my  appetite,  of  early  rising,  and  a  ten  miles'  walk. 

Having  a  little  time  before  the  stage  would  depart,  I 
walked  through  the  town,  and  was  much  pleased  with  it. 
Washington  is  surrounded  by  a  fertile,  well  cultivated,  and 

"*  William  McCammant's  tavem,  at  the  sign  of  the  "Cross  Keys,"  was  first 
opened  in  1801.  An  advertisement  of  early  prices  cited  "dinner  and  horse-feed, 
twenty-five  cents;  jurors  and  others  attending  court,  two  dollars  per  week.' ' —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  239 

well  inhabited  country,  rather  hilly,  but  the  hills  not  very 
steep.  The  town  occupies  a  hill  itself,  and  consists  of  one 
main  street,  intersected  at  right  angles  by  four  shorter  ones, 
the  whole  containing  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dwelling 
houses,  a  good  brick  court  house  and  a  stone  gaol  adjoining; 
two  meeting  houses,  one  of  brick  for  Presbyterians,  and  an 
old  one  of  logs  for  Methodists;  a  neat  masonick  lodge  of 
stone  and  lime,  and  a  small  market  house.  There  are  several 
stores  and  taverns,  and  on  the  whole  it  is  a  thriving  town, 
and  a  pleasant  residence  for  either  trader,  mechanick  or 
private  man,  the  inhabitants  being  a  spirited  and  polished 
people,  mostly  descendants  from  the  northern  Irish. 

At  noon  I  left  Washington  in  the  stage,  having  the  pleas- 
ure of  a  fellow  traveller  in  my  old  acquaintance  Dearborn, 
who  was  returning  to  Pittsburgh  after  an  excursion  to  Wash- 
ington for  the  purpose  of  taking  some  likenesses.  His 
anecdotes  of  domestick  and  social  occurrences  at  Pittsburgh 
during  my  absence,  beguiled  the  time  pleasantly,  and  we 
were  in  Canonsburgh,  without  being  sensible  of  the  seven 
[217]  miles  between  Washington  and  it.  The  road  leads 
mostly  along  Chartier's  creek,  crossing  it  three  times  in  that 
distance.  We  stopped  at  Westbay's  excellent  tavern,  where 
is  also  the  post  office.  They  were  making  preparations  for 
dinner,  which  (having  breakfasted  so  late)  we  declined 
partaking  of,  and  amused  ourselves  with  a  walk  through 
the  town.  It  is  on  the  S.  western  declivity  of  a  steep  hill, 
having  Chartier's  creek  at  the  bottom.  It  contains  eighty 
eight  houses,  of  different  descriptions,  exclusive  of  the  college, 
which  is  a  plain  stone  edifice,  much  out  of  repair,  with  a 
cupola  belfry.  There  is  also  a  small  market  house,  but 
the  town  does  not  seem  flourishing;  indeed  was  it  not  for  the 
college,  it  would  probably  soon  go  to  decay,  in  favour  of  its 
more  successful  neighbour  Washington.^"    The  most  strik- 

*"  For  the  history  of  Canonsburgh  and  the  college  here  mentioned,  see  Harris's 
Journal,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  347,  note  31. —  Ed. 


240  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

ing  thing  I  saw  here  was  my  landlord's  garden,  which  is  both 
good  and  handsome,  being  laid  out  with  taste,  aboimding  in 
a  variet}^  of  the  best  culinary  vegetables,  and  having  some 
very  pleasant  shady  bowers,  where  the  student,  or  man  of 
leisure,  sheltered  from  the  noonday  sim,  and  inhaling  the 
fragrance  of  the  surrounding  aromatick  plants,  might 
luxiuiantly  roam  into  the  realms  of  fancy. 

Two  miles  from  Canonsburgh,  we  passed  Morganza,  the 
seat  of  general  Morgan,  on  the  left.  It  is  a  long  and  narrow 
frame  building,  with  two  ends  lower  than  the  body  of  the 
house,  by  way  of  wings  —  the  whole  ornamented  with  green 
jalousie  window  shutters.  The  situation,  immediately  on 
the  road  side,  does  not  appear  well  chosen,  especially  as  the 
general  apparently  had  a  choice  of  a  variety  of  situations, 
any  of  which  I  should  have  supposed,  would  have  merited 
a  preference.  One  is  more  apt  to  be  struck  with  any  thing 
like  false  taste  in  any  work  which  has  been  finished  imder 
the  direction  of  a  man  of  education  and  refinement,  which  in 
addition  to  [218]  liberal  hospitahty,  is  general  Morgan's 
character,  as  well  as  that  of  his  amiable  and  accomplished 
lady.»*» 

"•  Morganza  was  the  home  of  Colonel  George  Morgan,  a  prominent  character 
in  Western  land  history.  He  was  originally  a  member  of  a  large  firm  of  Philadel" 
phia  Indian  traders,  and  made  journeys  to  Pittsburg  as  early  as  1768.  In  the  treaty 
of  Fort  Stanwix  of  that  year,  his  firm  was  one  of  those  reimbursed  for  losses  by  a 
grant  of  Western  lands,  out  of  which  grew  the  Indiana  Company,  for  which  Morgan 
during  many  years  acted  as  agent  and  secretary,  vainly  seeking  confirmation  of  the 
grant  by  the  Virginia  legislatiire  and  later  by  Congress.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution,  Morgan  was  made  Indian  agent  for  the  Western  Department,  with 
headquarters  at  Pittsburg.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  removal  to  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  brou^it  Morgan  into  contact  with  coUege  life,  his  services  as  trustee  being 
much  appreciated.  In  178S-89,  he  was  engaged  in  a  scheme  for  settling  a  colony 
on  Spanish  territory  at  New  Madrid,  but  several  trips  to  New  Orleans  on  this 
business  failed  to  efFect  a  satisfactory  arrangement.  Morgan  next  turned  his 
attention  to  the  estate  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  which  had  recently 
been  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  brother.  Thither  he  removed  in  1796,  and  at 
Jjforganza  occurred  the  dinner  at  which  Burr  was  charged  with  treasonable  re- 
marks against  the  authority  of  the  United  States.  The  death  of  Morgan  occurred 
at  Morganza  in  1810. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  241 

At  Fosset's,  three  miles  further,  we  changed  an  excellent 
set  of  grey  horses,  for  as  good  a  one  of  bays,  owned  by  my 
friend  M'Cullough  of  Pittsburgh. —  For  four  miles  from 
Fosset's  to  M'Cully's,  the  country  is  neither  so  fertile,  nor  so 
well  cultivated  as  before,  but  it  there  improves  again  a  little, 
and  is  ornamented  at  two  miles  further,  by  colonel  Plum- 
mer's  fanciful  but  handsome  house  and  fine  farm  on  the  left. 
Rather  exceeding  three  miles  more  brought  us  to  the  top  of 
the  Coal  hill,  the  descent  of  which  to  the  Monongahela, 
almost  a  mile,  is  so  steep  that  two  of  the  wheels  of  the  stage 
wagon  had  to  be  locked,  and  I  frequently  wished  myself 
out  of  it,  but  it  was  impossible  to  stop  to  get  out,  so  I  com- 
forted myself  with  the  reflection  that  no  unfortunate  acci- 
dent had  yet  happened  to  the  stages  on  this  hill,  which  giving 
me  courage,  I  was  enabled  to  enjoy  the  views  so  inexpres- 
sibly fine,  which  are  perpetually  varying,  as  the  road  winds 
down  the  hill. 

From  a  bird's  eye  view  on  the  top,  the  town  of  Pittsburgh, 
Grant's  hill,  and  even  Boyd's  hill  so  much  higher  than 
Grant's,  appear  as  a  plain,  enclosed  by  the  Monongahela 
from  the  S.  E.  directly  under  one,  and  the  Allegheny  meet- 
ing it  at  a  point  below  the  town,  and  both  together  forming 
the  Ohio,  which  glides  off  majestically  towards  the  N.  W. — 
keeping  the  course  of  the  Monongahela  rather  than  that  of 
the  more  rapid  Allegheny,  which  flowing  into  it  at  a  right 
angle  from  the  N.  E.  is  seen  seversd  miles  upwards  in  that 
direction,  with  some  beautiful  islands  about  three  miles 
above  Pittsburgh.  Descending  the  hill,  the  Monongahela 
gradually  opens  more  on  the  right  from  its  breadth  assuming 
the  appearance  of  a  beautiful  lake  surrounded  by  irregular 
hills,  with  Mr.  Beelen's  finely  situated  country  house,  shew- 
ing to  great  advantage,  at  its  upper  end. 

[219]  When  near  the  bottom  of  the  coal  hill,  a  sudden 
precipice  on  the  right,  and  a  short  turn  of  the  road  to  the 


242  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

left,  brought  back  our  thoughts  home  to  ourselves,  but  the 
well  trained  horses  seeming  to  know  exactly  where  they 
should  place  their  feet,  soon  removed  us  from  the  object 
of  terror,  and  without  stopping,  trotted  directly  with  the 
stage  and  us  into  the  ferry  flat,  which  was  prepared  to  re- 
ceive us  —  after  which,  ten  minutes  sufficed  to  land  us  at 
Pittsburgh. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

Pittsburgh  —  Panorama  round  it 
At  the  conflux  of  the  rivers  Allegheny  and  Monongahela, 
the  French  when  possessed  of  Canada,  had  the  principal  of 
a  line  of  posts  extending  from  that  country  round  the  back 
frontier  of  the  British  settlements,  for  the  purposes  of  awing 
the  aborigines  and  commanding  their  trade,  and  to  prevent 
the  spreading  of  the  Anglo-American  colonization  beyond 
these  limits.  It  was  named  Fort  Du  Quesne,  after  the 
Marquis  Du  Quesne,  a  governour  of  Canada.  It  was  always 
kept  well  garrisoned  by  European  troops,  and  in  time  of  war, 
was  never  without  an  army  of  auxiliary  Indians  encamped 
under  its  protection.  This  continual  state  of  preparation  cost 
the  British  much  blood.  In  the  year  1757,  general  Grant, 
with  a  regiment  of  eight  hundred  Scotch  highlanders, 
arrived  without  discovery  on  a  hill  immediately  command- 
ing the  fort,  since  named  after  him  Grant's  hill,  where  think- 
ing himself  secure  of  conquest,  he  alarmed  the  enemy  by 
beating  the  reveille  at  sunrise.  The  garrison,  without 
awaiting  [220]  to  be  attacked  in  the  fort,  which  would  not 
have  been  tenable,  and  reinforced  by  a  strong  body  of  Indians, 
stole  out  under  the  high  river  banks,  and  divided  itself  iato 
two  parties,  one  of  which  took  the  route  upwards  of  the 
Monongahela,  and  the  other  that  of  the  Allegheny,  until 
they  flanked  Grant's  little  army,  when  profiting  by  the 
woods,  with  which  the  hill  and  surrounding  country  were 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  243 

then  covered,  they  suddenly  attacked  it  in  flanks  and  rear, 
cut  to  pieces,  tomahawked  and  scalped  the  greater  number, 
while  the  rest  with  the  general  saved  their  lives  by  becoming 
prisoners  to  the  French,  on  whose  mercy  they  threw  them- 
selves."* 

The  following  year  1758,  was  productive  of  greater 
slaughter  to  the  British,  by  the  defeat  of  general  Braddock's 
army  of  five  thousand  men,  being  surprised  by  the  French 
and  Indians  in  great  force  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela, 
when  within  eight  miles  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  then  a  wilder- 
ness, but  now  well  inhabited  and  ornamented  on  the  very 
spot  by  the  handsome  brick  house  and  fine  farm  of  judge 
Wallace/"  The  general  and  three  fourths  of  the  army, 
were  shot  down  from  behind  trees,  while  in  the  parade  of 
European  tacticks,  presenting  four  bold  open  fronts  to  the 
enemy,  being  formed  in  a  hollow  square.  The  few  who 
escaped,  did  so  under  the  protection  of  Col.  since  Gen. 
Washington's  provincial  militia,  who  by  opposing  a  similar 
warfare  against  the  savage  enemy,  covered  the  retreat  of  the 
few  remaining  regulars. 

Some  time  afterwards  in  the  same  year,  the  fort  capitulated 
to  general  Forbes,  and  the  river  Allegheny  having  made 
some  encroachment  on  it  by  undermining  its  banks,  a  new 
and  more  extensive  fortification  of  a  square  with  four  bas- 


'"  Cuming's  historical  narratives  are  not  as  accurate  as  his  observations.  This 
defeat  of  Grant  occurred  in  1758,  and  but  a  third  of  the  troops  engaged  were  killed 
and  captured  —  540  out  of  813  returning  to  Bouquet's  camp  at  Loyalhanna.  See 
Parkman,  Montcalm  and  Wolfe  (Boston;  1885),  ii,  pp.  150-154. —  Ed. 

'"  General  Braddock's  defeat  occurred  July  9,  1755;  the  site  of  the  battle-field 
is  now  covered  by  the  manufacturing  town  of  Braddock,  Pennsylvania. 

Judge  George  Wallace,  whose  farm  comprised  the  field  of  battle  when  Cuming 
wrote,  was  an  eminent  citizen  of  Allegheny  County.  First  appointed  presiding 
judge  of  Westmoreland  (1784),  then  of  Allegheny  Coimty  (1788),  he  acted  as 
magistrate  \mtil  his  death  (1814).  Wallace  had  not  studied  law,  but  held  his  posi- 
tion on  accovmt  of  being  a  large  landholder;  his  fairness  and  moderation,  especially 
during  the  Whiskey  Rebellion,  proving  of  great  service  to  the  settlements. —  Ed. 


244  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

tions  was  erected  by  general  Stanwix  just  above,  and  named 
Fort  Pitt,  in  honour  of  the  then  prime  minister  of  England. — 
It  cost  government  ;£6o,ooo  sterling.  A  garrison  [221]  was 
kept  here  for  several  years  after  the  peace  of  1763,  but  it 
was  withdrawn  on  the  commencement  of  the  disputes 
between  Britain  and  America,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  sur- 
rounding settlement,  which  had  not  yet  taken  the  form  of  a 
town,  occasionally  forted  themselves  for  defence  against  the 
Indians,  and  so  late  as  the  year  1781,  there  were  only  a  few 
small  houses  and  cabins  on  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers, 
under  protection  of  the  fort,  a  noble  row  of  brick  and  stone 
houses  built  by  the  French  Indian  traders  on  the  banks  of 
the  Allegheny,  having  been  undermined  and  swept  away 
by  that  river  since  1 766,  in  the  memory  of  some  of  the  pres- 
ent inhabitants  of  Pittsburgh.  ^^*  After  1781,  Pittsburgh 
began  to  improve  slowly,  and  in  1784  a  gazette^"  was  estab- 
lished in  it.^®*  In  1783  Fort  Pitt  was  repaired  by  general 
Irwin,  but  was  afterwards  neglected,  and  a  stoccado  fort 
called  Fort  Fayette,  was  erected  on  the  bank  of  the  Alle- 
gheny, half  a  mile  above  Fort  Pitt.^^"'    Fort  Fayette  is  now 

*"  Brackenridge's  Gazette  Publications. —  Cramer. 

^*'  Published  by  Mr.  John  Scull,  the  first  press  established  west  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountains. —  Cramer. 

"*  The  pubUcation  of  the  Pittsburg  Gazette  was  begun  July  29,  1786,  and  con- 
tinued for  several  years  under  great  difficulties.  Sometimes  the  consignment  of  paper 
from  Philadelphia  failing  to  arrive,  it  was  printed  on  cartridge  paper  obtained  from 
the  commandant  of  the  fort.  John  Scull  remained  the  owner  and  proprietor  until 
1818,  when  he  retired  to  Westmoreland  County  where  he  died  ten  years  later. 
The  publication  of  the  Gazette  has  been  continuous  to  the  present  day,  being  now 
known  as  the  Commercial  Gazette. —  Ed. 

"'  For  note  on  Fort  Fayette,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  32 
note  12. 

General  William  Irvine  was  a  Scotch-Irish  Revolutionary  officer  who  had  been 
captured  on  the  Canadian  expedition  (1776)  and  not  exchanged  until  two  years 
later.  Commissioned  brigadier-general,  he  was  sent  by  Washington,  at  a  critical 
juncture,  to  take  command  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  there  remained  until  peace  was  signed 
(1783).  Thereupon  he  retired  to  Carlisle,  and  after  distinguished  public  services 
died  in  1804.  Pennsylvania  granted  him  a  tract  of  land  near  Erie  in  return  for  his 
services. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  245 

used  as  a  barrack  and  place  of  deposit  of  stores,  but  is  useless 
for  either  offence  or  defence.  The  surrounding  grounds 
were  handsomely  laid  out,  planted,  and  ornamented  by 
general  Wilkinson""  some  years  ago,  and  considering  the 
smallness  of  the  field  he  had  to  work  on,  shew  much  taste, 
and  are  an  ornament  to  the  eastern  and  principal  approach 
to  the  town,  in  which  situation  the  fort  stands. 

The  town  or  borougb,  as  it  now  is,  has  increased  in  a  very 
rapid  degree  both  in  size  and  consequence  since  the  last 
ten  years.  The  plan,  by  its  being  designed  to  suit  both 
rivers,  is  rather  irregular,  Penn  and  Liberty  streets  which 
are  very  fine  streets,  running  parallel  to  the  Allegheny, 
while  the  principal  [222]  part  of  the  town  is  parallel  and  at 
right  angles  with  the  Monongahela. 

In  seventeen  streets  and  four  lanes  or  alleys  in  March 
1808,  were  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  brick  houses,  of 
which  forty-seven  were  built  in  the  last  twelve  months,  and 
three  hundred  and  sixty-one  wooden  ones,  seventy  of  which 
were  added  last  year.  There  are  fifty  stores  generally  well 
assorted  and  supplied,  and  which  divide  the  retail  business 
of  the  town  and  adjacent  country  in  tolerably  good  propor- 

"**  The  career  of  General  James  Wilkinson  is  as  remarkable  as  his  character 
is  despicable.  His  adroitness  and  power  of  inspiring  confidence  maintained  him 
in  his  intrigues,  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  plajdng  a  prominent  part  in  eariy 
Western  affairs.  His  share  in  the  Revolution  was  indicative  of  the  man,  he  being 
concerned  in  the  Conway  Cabal  and  other  questionable  movements.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  migrated  to  Kentucky  and  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  His 
commercial  connection  with  New  Orleans  furnished  the  opportunity  for  his  intrigue 
with  the  Spaniards,  whose  paid  agent  he  became,  for  attempting  to  dismember 
the  union.  Returning  to  the  army,  he  acted  as  second  in  command  under  Wayne. 
Upon  the  latter's  death,  he  became  commander-in-chief,  and  after  1805  was  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Louisiana.  In  this  position  he  first  embarked  upon,  and  then 
betrayed  the  schemes  of  Aaron  Burr.  Not  able  entirely  to  clear  himself  of  suspi- 
cion, Wilkinson  was  removed  from  his  Western  position  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War 
ofi8i2-i5;  and  after  a  futile  and  mismanaged  campaign  against  Montreal  demanded 
an  investigation  by  court-martial.  This  being  inefficiently  conducted,  Wilkinson 
was  acquitted,  but  he  soon  (1815)  retired  to  extensive  estates  which  he  had  acquired 
near  the  City  of  Mexico,  where  he  died  ten  years  later. —  Ed. 


246  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

tion.  Some  however  have  rather  a  superiority  of  custom, 
the  owner  of  one  of  which,  a  man  of  veracity,  assured  me 
that  he  received  in  ready  money,  one  market  day  with 
another,  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  that  he  had  once 
taken  one  hundred  and  eighty  besides  the  credit  business. 
Either  as  a  trading  or  a  manufacturing  town,  I  think  Pitts- 
burgh for  situation,  is  not  excelled  in  the  United  States,  and 
that  it  bids  fair  to  become  the  emporium  of  the  centre  of  the 
federal  union.  There  are  24  taverns,  four  or  five  of  which 
are  excellent  ones,  and  the  rest  of  every  grade.  An  account 
of  the  manufacturies  and  tradesmen  was  taken  in  the  fall 
of  1807,  the  result  of  which  was  —  A  cotton  manufactury, 
having  a  mule  of  120  threads,  a  spinning  jenny  of  40  threads, 
4  looms  and  a  wool  carding  machine  under  the  same  roof;  a 
glasswork  for  green  glass  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Monon- 
gahela,  and  another  just  erected  for  white  glass  on  the  town 
side  of  the  same  river;  two  breweries,  where  are  made  excel- 
lent beer  and  porter,  equal  to  any  in  the  United  States;  an  air 
furnace,  where  all  sorts  of  hollow  iron  utensils  are  cast; 
four  nail  facturies,  at  one  of  which  one  hundred  tons  of  cut 
and  hammered  nails  are  made  annually;  seven  coppersmiths, 
tinplate  workers  and  japanners;  one  wire  weaving  and  riddle 
factury;  one  brass  foundery;  six  saddlers  and  harness-mak- 
ers; two  gun-smiths;  two  tobacconists;  one  bell-maker;  three 
tallow-chandlers;  [223]  one  brush  maker;  one  trunk-maker; 
five  coopers;  thirteen  weavers;  ten  blue-dyers;  one  comb- 
maker;  seven  cabinet-makers;  one  turner  in  brass,  ivory  and 
wood;  six  bakers;  eight  butchers;  two  barbers;  six  hatters; 
two  potteries  of  earthen  ware;  eight  straw  bonnet-makers; 
four  plane-makers;  six  milliners;  twelve  mantua-makers;  one 
stocking  weaver ;  two  book-binders ;  four  house  and  sign  paint- 
ers; two  portrait  painters;  one  mattress-maker;  three  wheel- 
wrights; five  watch  and  clock-makers  and  silversmiths;  five 
bricklayers,  five  plasterers;  three  stonecutters;  eight  boat, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  247 

barge  and  ship  builders;  one  pump-maker;  one  looking-glass 
plater  and  maker;  one  lock-maker;  seven  tanners;  two  rope- 
makers;  one  spinning  wheel  maker;  seventeen  blacksmiths; 
one  machinist  and  whitesmith;  one  cutler  and  tool-maker; 
thirty- two  house  carpenters  and  joiners;  twenty-one  boot 
and  shoemakers;  five  Windsor  chair-makers;  thirteen  tailors; 
one  breeches-maker  and  skin-dresser;  twelve  school-masters; 
four  schoolmistresses;  four  printing  offices;  six  brick-yards; 
three  stone  masons;  two  book-stores;  four  lumber  yards;  one 
maker  of  machinery  for  cotton  and  woolen  manufacturies; 
one  factury  for  clay  smoking-pipes;  and  one  copper-plate 
printing  press. 

The  tradesmen  above  mentioned  are  all  master-workmen, 
who  employ  more  or  less  assistants  in  proportion  to  their 
business. 

Besides  the  fine  situation  of  Pittsburgh  for  manufacturies, 
another  circumstance  encourages  much  the  settlement  of 
industrious  tradesmen  in  it,  which  is  the  cheap,  plentiful 
and  various  market.  There  are  two  market  days  weekly, 
and  the  common  prices  of  necessaries  are, —  good  beef,  from 
2\  to  4  cents  per  lb.  pork  3^,  mutton  4,  veal  3,  venison  3  to 
4,  bacon  6  to  10,  butter  10  to  18,  cheese  8  to  12,  hogs  lard  8, 
[224]  fowls  each  lo  to  12,  ducks  25,  geese  33  to  37,  turkies 
40  to  75,  flour  $1  75  to  2  50  per  cwt.  or  from  3  50  to  4  50  per 
barrel,  com  33,  potatoes  40,  turnips  18,  Indian  meal  40 
cents  per  bushel,  onions  a  dollar,  white  beans  a  dollar,  dried 
apples  and  peaches  a  dollar,  and  green  40  cents  per  bushel, 
eggs  10  to  18  cents  per  dozen,  fresh  fish  3  to  6  cents  per  lb. 
maple  sugar,  very  good,  made  in  the  country,  10  to  12  cents 
a  pound,  whiskey  30  to  40  cents  per  gallon,  peach  brandy  75 
to  80,  beer  5  to  7  dollars  a  barrel,  and  cider  3  to  4,  700 
country  linen  40  cents,  and  tow  cloth  33  cents  per  yard;^" 
but  salt  comes  high,  being  generally  2\  dollars  per  bushel, 

*"  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Navigator  —  sixth  edition. —  Cramer, 


248  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

which  is  occasioned  by  its  being  supplied  from  the  Ononda- 
go  salt  works,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
from  whence  it  is  brought  by  water  with  a  few  portages, 
through  part  of  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  and  down 
French  creek  and  the  Allegheny  to  Pittsburgh,  where  it  is  a 
great  article  of  trade,  giving  employment  to  several  keel  boats 
on  the  river. 

The  situation  of  Pittsburgh  is  unrivalled  with  respect 
to  water  communication,  with  a  great  extent  and  variety 
of  country;  and  would  also  be  so  in  beauty  was  it  not  hemmed 
in  too  closely  by  high  and  steep  hills.  It  may  notwith- 
standing be  called  a  beautiful  situation,  as  there  is  a  variety 
in  those  very  hills,  which  all  differ  in  appearance  from  each 
other,  and  admit  between  them  fine  vistas  up  the  Allegheny 
and  Monongahela,  and  down  the  Ohio,  which  river  is 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  other  two,  and  which  after 
flowing  eleven  hundred  miles  through  all  its  sinuosities,  is 
itself  lost  in  the  Mississippi,  at  a  point  about  W.  S.  W.  from 
Pittsburgh,  from  whence  eleven  hundred  miles  more  carry 
that  chief  of  Atlantick  rivers  (whether  with  regard  to  unim- 
peded navigation,  or  the  immense  body  of  water  discharged 
through  it)  into  the  ocean  below  New  Orleans,  in  [225]  about 
a  south  direction  from  its  confluence  with  the  Ohio. 

Standing  on  the  point  which  was  the  scite  of  the  old 
French  Fort  Du  Quesne,  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, and  of  which  there  is  now  no  vestige,  and  looking  up 
the  Allegheny  to  the  northward,  a  chain  of  hills,  with  a  nar- 
row bottom  partially  cultivated  between  the  hills  and  the 
river,  bound  the  view  on  the  left,  while  two  beautiful  little 
islands,  the  uppermost  one  cultivated,  and  owned  by  a  Mr. 
Wain  Wright  from  England,  terminate  the  water  prospect 
in  front. 

Turning  gradually  to  the  right,  the  eye  looks  over  the  dry 
ditch  and  old  ramparts  of  the  former  English  Fort  Pitt, 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  249 

which  succeeded  Fort  Du  Quesne,  beyond  which  are  a  few 
straggling  apple  and  pear  trees,  being  all  that  remains  of  the 
king's  and  artillery  gardens,  planted  and  cultivated  by  the 
first  British  garrison,  and  now  laid  out  in  streets  and  town 
lots.  Looking  onward  up  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  is 
about  thirty  feet  above  the  surface,  when  the  water  is  lowest, 
houses,  trees,  and  cultivated  fields,  are  seen  for  three  miles 
to  Mr.  Davis's  large,  and  handsomely  situated  house,  about 
half  a  mile  beyond  the  race  course,  and  the  same  distance 
above  Wainwright's  island.  Hills  covered  with  wood,  rising 
amphitheatre-like  behind  Davis's,  terminate  the  view  that 
way. 

Turning  a  little  more  to  the  right,  the  eye  follows  the 
Quarry  hill,  which  is  a  ridge  of  from  two  hundred  and 
fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  perpendicular  height,  crowned 
with  lofty  forest  trees,  under  which  is  a  quarry  of  fine 
building  stone,  about  half  a  mile  long,  with  a  good  wagon 
road  along  its  whole  length,  from  every  part  of  which  are 
most  charming  views  of  the  town  and  rivers,  the  cultivated 
sides  of  the  hill  below,  and  the  rich  and  luxuriant  plain  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide  between  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  the 
Allegheny,  [226]  with  the  post  and  stage  road  from  Phila- 
delphia and  the  eastern  states  running  through  the  middle  of 
it  two  miles  from  Hill's  tavern  to  the  town,  which  in  its 
most  compact  part,  with  the  belfry  of  the  court-house,  the 
Episcopal  brick  octagonal  church,  a  handsome  Presbyterian 
brick  meeting  house,  and  the  roofs  of  the  dwelling  houses 
intermixed  with  lombardy  poplars  and  weeping  willows, 
the  eye  still  approaching  itself,  is  the  next  object. 

A  little  to  the  right  of  the  last  line  of  view,  Grant's  hill, 
with  its  sloping  sides  and  regular  ascent  to  about  one  hundred 
feet  perpendicular  height,  covered  with  delightful  short  green 
herbage,  seems  to  obtrude  itself  into  the  town,  affording  to 
the  citizens  a  charming  mall  or  promenade  both  for  exer- 


250  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

cise  and  air.  It  lies  within  the  bounds  of  the  borough;  but 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  general  O'Hara,  who  is  the  proprietor, 
will  with  true  patriotism,  reserve  it  for  its  present  use,  and 
not  permit  one  of  the  greatest  ornaments  of  Pittsburgh  to 
be  destroyed,  by  having  it  cut  down  and  levelled  for  building 
lots.  Its  belonging  to  a  man  of  such  extensive  property  is  a 
fortunate  circumstance  for  the  inhabitants,  as  that  may  pre- 
vent its  being  changed  from  pleasure  to  profit,  to  which  it 
might  be  more  liable  was  it  owned  by  some  needy  person. 
Was  the  general  to  fence  it  in,  terrace  it,  which  could  be 
done  at  a  small  expense,  ornament  it  with  clumps  of  ever- 
greens and  flowering  shrubs,  and  erect  a  few  banqueting 
houses  in  the  forms  of  small  temples  according  to  the  differ- 
ent orders  of  architecture,  it  would  be  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful spots,  which  not  only  America  but  perhaps  any  town 
in  the  universe  could  boast  of. 

Grant's  hill  is  united  to  the  Quarry  hill,  by  a  plain  at 
first  flat,  then  rising  gradually,  over  the  middle  of  which  on  a 
very  commanding  situation,  is  seen  the  handsome  cottage 
of  Mr.  Tannehni,  a  continental  officer  during  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  who  now  enjoys  [227]  the  evening  of  life  in  the 
shade  of  the  finest  fruit  trees  of  this  climate,  of  his  own 
planting,  for  which  rational  and  delightful  employment  as 
well  as  horticulture  in  general,  he  has  a  good  taste. "^ 

Still  continuing  to  turn  to  the  right,  the  next  prominent 
object  is  the  house  of  Mr.  James  Ross,  an  eminent  lawyer, 
which  he  purchased  from  a  Mons.  Marie,  a  Frenchman, 

"*  What  adds  to  the  beauty  of  Mr.  Tannehill's  seat  is,  a  handsome  grove  of 
about  two  acres  of  young  black  oaks,  northwest  of  his  dwelUng,  through  the  middle 
of  which  runs  a  long  frame  bowery,  on  whose  end  fronting  the  road,  is  seen  this 
motto,  ' '  1808,  Dedicated  to  Virtue,  Liberty  and  Independence.' '  Here  a  portion  of 
the  citizens  meet  on  each  4th  of  July,  to  hail  with  jo5rful  hearts  the  day  that  gave 
birth  to  the  hberties  and  happiness  of  their  country.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road  to  the  bowery,  is  a  spring  issuing  from  the  side  of  the  hill,  whose  water  trickles 
down  a  rich  clover  patch,  through  which  is  a  deep  hollow  with  several  small  cas- 
cades, overhung  with  the  willow,  and  fruit  trees  of  various  kinds. —  Cramer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  251 

who  had  taken  great  pains  to  cultivate  a  good  garden,  which 
Mr.  Ross  does  not  neglect,  and  in  which,  on  the  top  of  an 
ancient  Indian  tumulus  or  barrow,  is  a  handsome  octangular 
summer  house  of  lattice  work,  painted  white,  which  forms  a 
conspicuous  and  pleasing  object. 

From  Mr.  Ross's,  which  is  immediately  behind  the  top 
of  Grant's  hill,  there  is  a  gradual  slope  to  a  small  but  ele- 
vated plain,  called  Scotch  or  Scots  hill,  from  its  being  the 
residence  of  several  families  from  the  northern  Hebrides. 
It  is  improperly  called  a  hill  as  it  is  no  higher  than  the  general 
level  of  the  town,  which  is  about  forty  feet  above  the  low 
water  mark  of  the  Monongahela,  to  the  bank  of  which 
river  this  plain  extends,  from  the  foot  of  the  hill  below  Mr. 
Ross's  house. 

A  valley  commencing  at  the  upper  extremity  of  this  plain, 
divides  Grant's  and  Grove  hills  (the  latter  the  seat  of  Mr. 
Tannehill  before  mentioned)  from  Boyd's  hill,  which  equally 
steep  and  twice  as  high  as  Grant's,  is  the  most  striking 
feature  in  the  view,  [228]  still  looking  to  the  right  over  the 
principal  part  of  the  town.  This  valley  is  watered  by  a 
little  rivulet  called  Suke's"^  run,  which  flows  past  a  pleasant 
retired  situation,  said  to  have  been  formerly  inhabited  by  one 
Anthony  Thompson,  long  before  Pittsburgh  was  a  town. 
A  few  indigenous  plum  trees  are  the  only  vestiges  of  its 
former  occupancy.  The  rivulet  passes  Mr.  Watson's  large 
brick  house,  supplies  a  tanyard  owned  by  general  O'Hara, 
then  crossing  the  Monongahela  road,  falls  into  that  river 
at  the  shipyards,  at  a  low  inlet  between  Scots  hill  plain  and 
Boyd's  hill,  where  several  vessels  have  been  built,  some  as 
large  as  four  hundred  tons.  The  coal  which  supplies  Pitts- 
burgh with  fuel,  is  brought  on  wagons  from  a  distance  not 

^•^  This  rivulet  derives  its  appellation  from  the  circumstance  of  a  woman  named 
Susan,  nicknamed  Suke,  having  either  hung  herself  in  a  thicket  of  pliun  trees  here, 
or  drowned  herself  in  the  run,  about  thirty-five  years  ago. —  Cramer. 


252  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

exceeding  two  miles,  and  is  delivered  in  the  town  at  six 
cents  a  bushel. 

Boyd's  hill  was  formerly  named  Ayre's  hill,  from  a 
British  engineer  of  that  name  who  wished  to  have  it  for- 
tified, but  it  changed  its  appellation  about  twenty  years 
ago  in  consequence  of  one  Boyd,  a  printer,  hanging  himself 
there  on  a  tree.  It  was  first  cleared  and  cultivated  by  a 
Highland  regiment,  which  built  huts  on  it,  no  remains  of 
which  now  exist. 

The  view  from  Boyd's  hill  exclusive  of  the  Allegheny, 
which  is  veiled  by  Grant's  and  the  Quarry  hills,  is  as  fine 
as  that  from  the  Quarry  hill  exclusive  of  the  Monongahela^ 
shut  out  from  it  by  Boyd's,  and  is  more  uninterrupted  down 
the  Ohio  to  Robinson's  point  and  Brunot's  island,  almost 
three  miles. 

The  Monongahela  is  then  the  next  object  to  the  right  of 
Boyd's  hill.  It  is  four  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide,  and 
is  seen  to  the  N.  E.  in  a  vista  of  about  two  miles,  when  it 
takes  a  sudden  bend  to  the  eastward,  and  disappears  behind 
the  hills,  at  the  extremity  [229]  of  this  vista,  at  the  Two  mile 
run,  Mr.  Anthony  Beelen,  a  respectable  merchant,  has  a 
neat  ornamented  cottage,  opposite  the  bend,  on  the  left 
bank,  which  commands  a  view  of  the  reach  above,  as  well 
as  of  that  below  to  the  town.  The  intermediate  bank  be- 
tween Mr.  Beelen's  country  seat  and  Pittsburgh,  has  a  pleas- 
ant road  along  it,  which  is  one  of  the  principal  avenues  to 
the  town,  and  which  is  surmounted  by  the  ridge,  of  which 
Boyd's  hill  is  the  termination,  whose  round  regular  bluff 
verges  into  a  bare  rock,  crowned  with  trees,  impending 
romantically  over  the  road  in  the  whole  distance  from  Two 
mile  run. 

Still  turning  to  the  right  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Monon- 
gahela presents  to  the  eye  a  fine  level  bottom  well  cultivated 
and  settled,  with  a  ridge  of  hills  half  a  mile  behind  it,  which 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  253 

gradually  approach  the  river  until  immediately  opposite 
the  town,  where  rising  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge 
to  the  height  of  about  five  hundred  feet  perpendicular,  they 
take  the  name  of  the  Coal  hill,  from  that  fuel  being  formerly 
dug  out  of  it  for  the  use  of  the  town,  before  pits  were  opened 
more  convenient  on  this  side  of  the  river.  It  still  supplies 
the  coal  for  general  O'Hara's  glass-works,  which,  with  the 
houses  of  the  overseer  and  workmen,  forms  a  village  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the  river  bank,  immediately  oppo- 
site the  point  where  the  spectator  stands,  who  has  now  gone 
round  rather  more  than  half  a  circle  since  his  first  view  up 
the  Allegheny.  Window  glass  of  a  good  quality  and  quart 
bottles,  are  made  at  this  manufactury,  which  with  a  rival 
one  at  New  Geneva,  about  sixty  miles  up  the  Monongahela, 
supplies  all  the  western  country. 

The  face  of  the  Coal  hill  is  very  steep,  and  on  the  summit, 
major  Kirkpatrick"*  has  a  farm  house  and  bam,  which 
seem  to  hang  immediately  over  Pittsburgh,  to  a  traveller 
approaching  from  the  north  [230]  eastern  avenues.  The 
bird's  eye  view  from  thence  of  the  town  and  rivers  is  very 
striking.  Every  street,  lane,  alley,  house  and  object,  how- 
ever minute  (if  visible  to  the  eye)  being  delineated  under  the 
spectator,  as  a  plan  on  paper,  the  inequalities  of  surface  not 
being  discernible,  and  even  Grant's  hill  being  flattened  to 
a  plain  on  the  optick  sense. 

Continuing  to  turn  to  the  right  from  our  original  centre, 
the  point,  we  see  the  Ohio  for  about  two  miles,  with  Elliot's 
mills  on  Saw  mill  run  below  Coal  hill  on  the  left,  an  amphi- 
theatre of  lower  hills  about  Chartier  creek  and  M'Kee's 
farm  to  Brunot's  island  in  front,  and  Robinson's  point 

*"  Major  Abraham  Kirkpatrick,  a  Marylander  by  birth  and  a  Revolutionary 
officer,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Pittsburg.  A  brother-in-law  of  John 
Neville,  he  aided  the  latter  in  his  difficulties  with  the  insurgents  in  the  Whiskey 
Rebellion.  Nevertheless,  he  was  popular  in  his  vicinity,  and  left  a  number  of 
descendants  who  became  useful  citizens. —  Ed. 


254  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

and  Smoky  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Allegheny  on  the 
right. 

The  eye  still  keeping  its  circuit,  looks  over  a  fine  level 
of  three  thousand  acres,  once  intended  as  the  scite  of  a 
town  to  be  called  Allegheny,  to  be  the  capital  of  the  county, 
but  the  situation  of  Pittsburgh  being  very  properly  judged 
more  convenient,  it  has  eventually  become  the  seat  of  justice 
of  the  county,  and  the  most  flourishing  inland  town  in  the 
United  States.  A  chain  of  irregular  hills,  not  so  steep,  but 
nearly  as  high  as  Coal  hill,  bounds  this  level,  and  com- 
pletes the  Panorama. 

The  plan  of  Pittsburgh  by  being  designed  to  suit  both  the 
rivers,  is  in  consequence  irregular.  The  ground  plot  is  a 
triangle.  Some  of  the  streets  run  parallel  to  each  river, 
until  they  meet  at  the  point,  and  they  again  are  intersected 
by  others  at  right  angles,  meeting  at  acute  angles  in  the 
centre.  At  one  of  those  acute  angles  at  a  comer  of  Wood 
street,  is  the  Episcopal  church,  an  octagonal  building  of 
brick  not  yet  finished,  and  nearly  opposite  on  the  other 
side  of  the  same  street  is  a  Presbyterian  meeting-house  of 
brick  also,  well  built,  neat,  and  roomy.  In  a  remote  street 
near  Grant's  hill,  is  a  small  old  framed  Presbyterian  meet- 
ing-house, used  by  a  sect  a  little  differing  from  the  other, 
and  the  German  Lutherans  [231]  have  a  small  house  of 
worship  near  it  —  at  the  N.  E.  end  of  the  town  is  a  very 
good  brick  meeting-house  for  a  large  congregation  of  Cove- 
nanters —  and  without  the  town,  near  Mr.  Woods's  hand- 
some seat,  a  handsome  brick  church  is  building  for  a  society 
of  Roman  Catholicks.  The  court-house  in  the  centre  of 
the  town  is  the  only  publick  building  which  remains  to  be 
mentioned. 

It  is  well  built  of  brick,  is  spacious,  and  convenient  for 
judiciary  purposes,  and  serves  for  a  place  of  worship  for 
the  Episcopal  society  until  their  own  church  is  finished,  as 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  255 

also  occasionally  for  itinerant  preachers  to  display  their 
oratory  —  and  the  jury  room  up  stairs  is  sometimes  con- 
verted into  a  very  good  temporary  theatre,  where  private 
theatricals  are  practised  in  the  winter  by  the  young  gentle- 
men of  the  town. 

A  respectable  society  of  Methodists  meet  at  each  others 
'houses,  not  having  yet  any  house  for  that  express  purpose. 

From  the  number  of  religious  houses  and  sects,  it  may  be 
presumed  that  the  sabbath  is  decently  observed  in  Pitts- 
burgh, and  that  really  appears  to  be  the  case  in  a  remark- 
able degree,  considering  it  is  so  much  of  a  manufacturing 
town,  so  recently  become  such,  and  inhabited  by  such  a 
variety  of  people. 

Amusements  are  also  a  good  deal  attended  to,  particu- 
larly concerts  and  balls  in  the  winters,  and  there  are  annual 
horse  races  at  a  course  about  three  miles  from  town,  near 
the  Allegheny  beyond  Hill's  tavern."* 

On  the  whole  let  a  person  be  of  what  disposition  he  will, 
Pittsburgh  will  afford  him  scope  for  the  exercise  of  it. 

[232]  Notes  made    in    descending    the    rivers    Ohio    and 
Mississippi  in  the  spring  oj  1808  —  from  Maysville. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

Columbia  —  Newport  —  Cincinnati  —  Port    William  — 
Louisville  and  the  falls. 

May  7th,  at  8  P.  M.  departed  from  Maysville  —  8th, 
the  Ohio  is  safe  and  clear  of  obstructions  from  Maysville 
to  the  Little  Miami  river,  fifty-six  miles. 

Little  Miami  is  a  beautiful  river,  sixty  or  seventy  yards 
wide,  falling  into  the  Ohio  on  the  right  from  the  northward. 

^^  We  are  sorry  to  have  it  to  acknowledge  that  horse  racing,  contrary  to  an 
express  law  of  the  state,  has  been  more  or  less  practised  within  the  vicinity  of  this 
place  a  few  years  back,  but  are  pleased  with  the  prospect  of  having  it  totally  abol- 
ished by  the  influence  of  its  evident  impropriety,  danger,  and  wickedness,  operating 
on  the  minds  of  the  more  thoughtful  and  judicious. —  Cramer. 


256  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  village  of  Columbia  just  below,  is  beautifully  situated 
on  an  extensive  bottom.  Seven  miles  lower  we  passed  on 
the  left  the  village  of  Newport,  containing  a  large  brick 
arsenal  and  magazine,  the  property  of  the  general  govern- 
ment. It  is  just  above  the  conflux  of  Licking  river,  which 
is  about  one  hundred  yards  wide.  The  banks  of  the  Ohio 
display  a  great  sameness  so  far,  they  having  a  gentle  slope, 
and  rich  soil,  thickly  wooded  and  thinly  inhabited. 

We  stopped  at  Cincinnati  which  is  delightfully  situated 
just  opposite  the  mouth  of  Licking  river."' — This  town 
occupies  more  ground,  and  seems  to  contain  nearly  as  many 
houses  as  Lexington.  It  is  on  a  double  bank  like  Steuben- 
ville,  and  the  streets  are  in  right  lines,  intersecting  at  right 
angles.  The  houses  are  many  of  them  of  brick,  and  they  are 
all  in  general  well  built,  well  painted,  and  have  that  air  of 
neatness  which  is  so  conspicuous  in  Connecticut  and  Jersey, 
from  which  latter  state,  this  part  of  the  state  of  Ohio  is 

"*  The  Licking  was  explored  by  Harrod's  party  in  1774,  and  five  years  later 
Bowman's  iinfortunate  expedition  rendezvoused  at  its  mouth.  The  next  year 
(1780)  George  Rogers  Clark  in  his  raid  against  the  Chillicothe  Indians  built  two 
blockhouses  on  the  site  of  Cincinnati;  and  again  in  1782  started  from  hence  against 
the  Miamis.  In  1785-86,  the  Federal  Government  built  Fort  Finney  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  where  Clark  held  a  treaty  in  the  latter  year.  After 
the  erection  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  the  opening  of  the  district  to  land- 
holders, John  Cleves  Symmes  bought  a  million  acres  between  the  two  Miami 
rivers,  and  towns  were  soon  formed.  Matthias  Denman  (1788)  purchased  of 
Symmes  for  two  hundred  dollars  a  square  mile  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Licking, 
and  forming  a  partnership  with  Robert  Patterson  of  Lexington,  and  John  Filson,  a 
Kentucky  schoolmaster,  founded  a  town  which  the  latter  entitled  LosantiviUe, 
"town  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Licking."  This  fantastic  compound  was  re- 
tained until  Governor  St.  Clair  (1790)  changed  the  name  to  Cincinnati  in  honor  of 
the  military  society.  Fort  Washington,  government  post,  built  in  1790,  protected 
the  infant  settlement. 

Meanwhile  Symmes  had  platted  a  town  on  the  Great  Miami,  which  he  called 
North  Bend,  and  desired  to  have  established  as  the  capital  of  the  new  Northwest 
Territory.  Colimibia  was  also  laid  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  and  the 
three  towns  contended  for  leadership  until  Cincinnati  was  made  capital  of  the 
Territory  in  1800,  and  began  to  flourish  apace.  The  garrison  was  removed  from 
Fort  Washington  to  Newport  barracks  in  1804.  The  residence  of  Colonel  Suydam 
has  given  its  name  to  Suydamsville,  a  western  suburb  of  Cincinnati. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  257 

principally  settled.  Some  of  the  new  brick  houses  [233]  are 
of  three  stories  with  flat  roofs,  and  there  is  one  of  four  stories 
now  building.  Mr.  Jacob  Burnet,  an  eminent  lawyer,  has  a 
handsome  brick  house  beautifully  situated  just  outside  the 
west  end  of  the  town."'  Cincinnati,  then  named  Fort 
Washington,  was  one  of  the  first  military  posts  occupied  by 
the  Americans  in  the  western  country,  but  I  observed  no 
remains  of  the  old  fort.  It  is  now  the  capital  of  Hamilton 
county,  and  is  the  largest  town  in  the  state. 

After  remaining  at  Cincinnati  from  three  o'clock  until 
half  past  five,  we  then  proceeded,  passing  Col.  Suydam's 
very  handsome  stone  house  with  piazzas  and  balconies,  in 
the  French  West  India  style,  three  or  four  miles  below. 

May  9th,  having  passed  the  Big  Miami,  the  boundary 
between  Ohio  and  the  territory  of  Indiana  in  the  night,  at 
seven  in  the  morning  we  were  abreast  of  Big  Bone  Lick  creek, 
so  called  from  a  skeleton  of  the  mammoth  being  found 
here."*  This  is  fifty-nine  miles  below  Cincinnati.  The 
tiresome  sameness  of  the  banks  continued  until  noon  when 
being  abreast  of  one  Reamy's,  thirty- two  miles  further,  the 
settlements  became  thicker  on  the  Kentucky  side,  and  the 
river  assumed  a  more  cheerful  appearance.  I  observed 
some  farms  on  the  opposite  shore  of  Indiana,  at  one  of  which 
I  was  informed  was  a  vineyard. 

At  three  P.  M.  we  stopped  at  Port  William,  delightfully 
situated  just  above  the  embouchure  of  Kentucky  river, 

"'  Jacob  Burnet,  bom  in  New  Jersey  in  1770,  was  of  Scotch  descent.  When  a 
young  man  of  twenty-six  he  came  to  the  Northwest  Territory  to  practice  law,  and 
settled  at  Cincinnati.  His  pubUc  services  were  as  member  of  the  territorial  council 
(1798),  as  supreme  judge  of  the  State,  and  as  United  States  Senator.  He  was  the 
author  of  Notes  on  the  Early  Settlement  of  the  Northwestern  Territory  (Cincinnati, 
1847),  a  valuable  pioneer  history.  Burnet's  home  was  the  scene  of  noteworthy 
hospitality,  all  prominent  visitors  to  the  region  being  there  entertained.  A  portion 
of  his  estate  is  now  a  public  park  for  Cincinnati,  known  as  Burnet  Woods. —  Ed. 

"*  For  note  on  Big  Bone  Lick,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series, 
p.  135,  note  104. —  Ed. 


258  Fiarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

which  is  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  yards  wide.  This  is  the 
capital  of  Gallatin  county,  and  contains  twenty-one  houses, 
many  of  which  are  of  brick,  but  all  rather  in  a  state  of  de- 
cay."' The  lands  appear  good,  but  probably  the  country 
is  not  in  a  sufficient  state  of  improvement  to  admit  of  a  town 
here  yet.  Frankfort  the  capital  of  the  state,  is  on  the  Ken- 
tucky, only  sixty  miles  above  Port  William. 

[234]  At  four  we  gave  our  boats  to  the  stream,  and  after 
floating  all  night  seventy-eight  miles,  past  some  islands  and 
some  thinly  scattering  settlements,  we  rowed  into  Bear 
Grass  creek,  which  forms  a  commodious  little  harbour  with- 
out current  for  Louisville,  May  loth,  at  9  A.  M. 

Louisville  is  most  delightfully  situated  on  an  elevated 
plain  to  which  the  ascent  from  the  creek  and  river  is  gradual, 
being  just  slope  enough  to  admit  of  hanging  gardens  with 
terraces,  which  doctor  Gault  at  the  upper,  and  two  Messrs. 
Buttets  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town  have  availed  themselves 
of,  in  laying  out  their  gardens  very  handsomely  and  with 
taste.  From  the  latter,  the  view  both  up  and  down  the 
river  is  truly  delightful.  Looking  upwards,  a  reach  of  five 
or  six  miles  presents  itself,  and  turning  the  eye  to  the  left, 
Jeffersonville,  a  neat  village  of  thirty  houses,  in  Indiana, 
about  a  mile  distant,  is  next  seen.  The  eye  still  turning  a 
little  more  to  the  left,  next  rests  upon  a  high  point  where 
general  Clark  first  encamped  his  little  army,  about  thirty 
years  ago,  when  he  descended  the  river  to  make  a  campaign 
against  the  Indians,  at  which  time  Louisville,  and  almost 
the  whole  of  Kentucky  was  a  wilderness  covered  with  forests. 
The  rapids  or  faUs  (as  they  are  called)  of  the  Ohio,  are  the 
next  objects  which  strike  the  observer.  They  are  formed  by 
a  range  of  rocks  and  low  islands,  which  extend  across  the 

"'  Port  William  is  now  called  Carrollton,  and  is  the  county-seat  of  Carroll 
County,  erected  out  of  the  limits  of  Gallatin  in  1838. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  259 

river,  the  deepest  channel  through  which  is  near  the  Indiana 
shore,  and  has  only  six  feet  water,  and  that  even  very  nar- 
row when  the  river  is  low.  The  fall  here  has  been  proved 
by  a  level  to  be  twenty-two  inches  and  a  half  in  two  miles, 
from  Bear  Grass  creek  to  Shipping  Port,  which  causes  a 
velocity  of  current  of  about  twelve  miles  an  hour  in  the 
channel.  Clarksville,  a  new  village  in  Indiana  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  rapids,  is  next  seen,  beyond  which  Silver  creek 
hills,  a  moderately  high  and  even  chain,  bound  the  view 
five  or  six  miles  distant."**  Continuing  [235]  to  turn  to  the 
left.  Rock  island,  and  the  same  chain  of  hills  appearing  over 
it,  finish  two  thirds  of  a  very  fine  panorama.  The  town  and 
surrounding  forests  form  the  other  third. 

Louisville  consists  of  one  principal  and  very  handsome 
street,  about  half  a  mile  long,  tolerably  compactly  built, 
and  the  houses  generally  superiour  to  any  I  have  seen  in  the 
western  country  with  the  exception  of  Lexington.  Most 
are  of  handsome  brick,  and  some  are  three  stories,  with  a 
parapet  wall  on  the  top  in  the  modern  European  taste, 
which  in  front  gives  them  the  appearance  of  having  flat 
roofs. 

I  had  thought  Cincinnati  one  of  the  most  beautiful  towns 
I  had  seen  in  America,  but  Louisville,  which  is  almost  as 
large,  equals  it  in  beauty,  and  in  the  opinion  of  many  excels 
it.  It  was  considered  as  unhealthy  which  impeded  its 
progress,  until  three  or  four  years  ago,  when  probably  in 

"°  On  the  early  history  of  Louisville,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series, 
p.  136,  note  106. 

Clarksville  was  established  (1783)  on  the  grant  of  lands  given  by  the  Virginia 
legislature  to  the  soldiers  who  had  served  in  Clark's  campaign  in  the  Illinois. 
Much  was  expected  of  this  new  town  opposite  the  Falls  of  Ohio;  but  it  never  flour- 
ished, and  gradually  declined  before  its  more  prosperous  neighbor,  Jeffersonville 
(founded  in  1802),  and  has  now  become  but  a  suburb  of  the  manufacturing  town 
of  New  Albany.  General  George  Rogers  Clark  had  a  home  on  a  point  of  rocks 
near  Clarksville. —  Ed. 


26o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

consequence  of  the  surrounding  country  being  more  opened, 
bilious  complaints]  ceased  to  be  so  frequent,  and  it  is  now 
considered  by  the  inhabitants  as  healthy  as  any  town  on  the 
river.  There  is  a  market  house,  where  is  a  very  good 
market  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday.  The  court  house 
is  a  plain  two  story  stone  building,  with  a  square  roof  and 
small  belfry.  There  are  bells  here  on  the  roofs  of  the  tav- 
erns as  in  Lexington,  to  summon  the  guests  to  their  meals. 
Great  retail  business  is  done  here,  and  much  produce  is 
shipped  to  New  Orleans. 

May  II. —  At  four  P.  M.  Mr.  Nelson,  a  pilot,  came  on 
board  and  conducted  the  boats  through  the  falls,  by  the 
Kentucky  schute,  and  in  forty-five  minutes  we  moored  at 
Shippingport,  where  we  found  commodore  Peters' s  boat 
and  ofl&cers,  and  captain  Nevitt's  gun  boat,  all  bound  to 
New  Orleans  in  a  few  days. 

[236]  Shippingport  is  a  fine  harbour,  there  being  no  cur- 
rent in  it,  but  the  banks  are  rather  low,  so  as  to  be  inundated 
at  very  high  floods. 

Mr.  Berthoud,  who  has  a  handsome  house  here,  is  con- 
nected with  Mr.  Tarascon  of  Louisville  in  one  of  the  finest 
rope  walks  in  the  United  States.  It  is  twelve  hundred  feet 
long,  of  which  seven  hundred  and  fifty  are  covered. *^^ 

A  little  above  the  port  is  a  mill  wrought  by  the  Ohio,  the 
race  being  formed  by  a  small  bank,  which  has  been  cut 
through  purposely. 


^"  Shippingsport  —  now  a  portion  of  the  dty  of  Louisville  —  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  Campbellville  in  1785.  The  name  was  changed  when  James 
Berthoud  became  its  proprietor  in  1805.  Shippingsport  was  an  important  starting 
place  for  traffic  west  and  south  from  Louisville,  until  the  construction  of  the  Louis- 
ville and  Portland  Canal  in  1832. 

The  Tarascons  were  brothers  who  came  from  France  to  Kentucky,  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  They  built  large  mills  at  Shippingsport  (1815-19),  and  were 
known  as  enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizens. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  261 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 

Doe  run  —  Blue  river  —  Wheatley's  —  Conversation  with 
Wheatley  about  the  Indians  —  Squire  Tobin's  —  Horse 
machinery  boat. 

May  12. —  At  six  A.  M.  proceeded  down  the  river,  and 
seven  miles  from  Shippingport,  passed  Sullivan's  ferry,  from 
whence  a  road  is  traced  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to 
Post  Vincennes,  the  capital  of  Indiana."^  The  current  of 
the  Ohio  now  carried  us  five  miles  an  hour,  passing  settle- 
ments on  the  right  every  mile  with  a  range  of  picturesque 
hills  behind  them. 

Twenty-five  miles  from  the  falls,  we  passed  Salt  river, 
about  eighty  yards  wide,  on  the  left,  with  some  neat  settle- 
ments on  each  side  of  it,  and  also  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  Ohio,  which  latter  bank  is  overhung  by  some  very  high 
rocky  precipices.  Twelve  miles  further  on  the  left,  we 
stopped  at  Doe  run  to  purchase  necessaries.  This  is  a  small 
creek,  but  has  a  thriving  little  settlement  of  half  a  dozen 
families  on  its  [237]  banks.  The  price  of  provisions  is  here 
as  we  had  found  it  generally,  viz.  Butter  12^  cents  per  lb. 
eggs  t\  cents  per  dozen,  milk  (i\  cents  per  quart,  fowls  124- 
cents  each,  and  turkies  in  proportion  to  their  size  from  25 
to  50  cents  each.  At  half  past  six,  P.  M.  we  passed  Buck 
creek  on  the  right,  five  miles  from  Doe  run,  and  half  a  mile 
lower  on  the  same  side,  we  stopped  and  moored  at  an  excel- 
lent landing  under  a  house  on  the  bank. 

May  13th,  at  dawn  of  day  we  went  on,  passing  at  two 
miles  and  a  half,  on  the  rights  a  very  remarkable  rocky  cliff 
overhanging  a  cabin  and  small  settlement.  We  passed 
Indian  creek  and  two  islands  in  twelve  miles  more,  and  then 
came  to  Blue  river,  on  the  right,  fifty  yards  wide. 

*"  For  the  early  history  of  Vincennes,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series, 
p.  141,  note  113. —  Ed. 


262  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  river  hills,  which  are  generally  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, behind  the  banks  below  Louisville,  now  approached 
quite  close  on  each  side. 

On  each  side  of  Blue  river  is  a  settlement,  the  uppermost 
one  three  years  old,  but  very  little  advanced,  has  a  large 
family  of  children  and  their  mother  almost  naked.  Noth- 
ing apparently  flourishing  except  a  large  garden  of  onions, 
for  a  few  of  which  with  a  pound  or  two  of  Indian  meal  to 
make  leaven,  the  woman  would  fix  no  price,  but  thinking 
herself  badly  paid  with  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  I  gave  her  an 
eighth  more  to  satisfy  her.  The  lower  settlement  was 
began  two  years  ago  by  one  Thomas  Davidson,  from  Car- 
lisle, in  Pennsylvania,  and  must  become  a  fine  property  if 
Mr.  Harrison,  the  present  govemour  of  Indiana,  succeeds 
in  establishing,  according  to  his  intentions,  a  ship  yard  on 
Blue  river,  which  is  a  most  eligible  situation  for  it.  He  has 
already  erected  a  grist  and  saw  mill  about  eight  miles  up 
it,"'  where  it  is  joined  by  a  rivulet,  which  rising  suddenly 
from  a  spring  in  a  prairie  seventeen  miles  above  the  mill, 
tinges  the  water  from  its  source  to  its  discharge  into  the 
Ohio  with  a  clear  blue  colour,  which  however  [238]  does 
not  effect  its  goodness,  it  being  of  an  excellent  quality. 

Blue  river  itself  is  navigable  for  batteaux  forty  miles. 

An  old  Indian  trace,  now  the  post  road  from  Louisville 
to  Vincennes,  crosses  it  at  twenty-five  miles  from  its  mouth. 

The  distance  from  the  governour's  mills  to  Vincennes, 
is  about  one  hundred  miles. 


^^  The  career  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  ninth  president  of  the  United  States, 
belongs  to  general  history.  Harrison  was  appointed  governor  of  Indiana  Territory 
upon  its  erection  in  1800,  and  took  much  interest  in  its  development.  While 
making  his  home  at  Vincennes,  he  became  interested  in  the  Blue  River  settlement, 
which  was  begun  about  1802  by  Sqviire  Boone  (brother  of  Daniel)  and  his  son 
Moses.  The  settlement  and  Harrison's  mills  were  at  a  place  now  called  Wilson's 
Springs  in  Harrison  County,  Indiana. —  Ed. 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  263 

After  leaving  Blue  river  we  went  sixteen  miles  without 
any  settlement,  and  then  passed  a  small  one  on  the  left. 
The  river  having  narrowed  in  that  distance  to  less  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  and  very  crooked,  with  gently  slop- 
ing hills  rising  from  the  banks.  Ten  miles  lower,  on  the 
left,  we  came  to  the  next  settlement  just  began,  and  three 
miles  further  passed  Flint  island,  one  mile  long,  with  the 
hull  of  a  small  ship  on  the  upper  end,  stranded  there  in 
descending  last  winter  from  Marietta. 

When  about  three  miles  below  Flint  island,  the  wind 
blowing  very  fresh  ahead  and  causing  a  good  deal  of  sea,  we 
stopped  on  the  right  shore  abreast  of  Wheatly's  cabin,  and 
moored.  Wheatly  comes  from  Redstone  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  first  lived  on  the  opposite  bank  in  Kentucky,  where  he 
owned  one  thousand  acres  of  land,  which  he  was  obliged 
to  part  with  from  following  boating  and  neglecting  farming. 
He  has  now  three  hundred  and  forty  acres  here,  from  six 
of  which  that  he  has  cleared,  he  raised  last  year  five  hundred 
bushels  of  corn.  He  told  us  that  a  small  tribe  of  Miami 
Indians  were  encamped  on  Oil  creek  about  two  miles  dis- 
tant. On  asking  if  they  were  troublesome,  he  replied  with 
much  sang  froid,  still  splitting  his  log,  **We  never  permit 
them  to  be  troublesome,  for  if  any  of  them  displease  us, 
we  take  them  out  of  doors  and  kick  them  a  little,  for  they  are 
like  dogs,  and  so  will  love  you  the  better  for  it."  This 
doctrine  might  suit  an  athletick,  active  man,  [239]  upwards 
of  six  feet  high  and  in  the  prime  of  life,  like  Wheatly,  but 
I  question  whether  the  Indians  would  submit  to  it  from 
people  less  powerful.  He  informed  us,  that  they  frequently 
get  the  Indians  together,  take  their  guns,  knives  and  toma- 
hawks from  them,  then  treat  them  with  whiskey  until  they 
are  drunk,  when  they  set  them  by  the  ears,  to  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  seeing  them  fight,  at  which  they  are  so  awkward 


264  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

(like  young  bears,  according  to  his  phrase)  that  they  scuffle 
for  hours  without  drawing  blood,  and  when  their  breath 
is  exhausted  they  will  sit  down  quietly  to  recruit,  and  then 
*  *  up  and  at  it  again.' ' 

We  picked  some  fine  wild  greens  (lamb's  quarters)  and 
got  some  milk,  and  next  morning. 

May  14th,  proceeded.  At  eight  miles  below  we  passed 
some  good  settlements  on  the  right,  and  a  ferry,  from  whence 
a  trace  is  opened  seventy-five  miles,  to  Vincennes.  Leav- 
ing Sinking  creek  on  the  right,  and  a  large  double  log  cabin 
and  very  fine  settlement  on  the  left,  ten  miles  more  brought 
us  to  squire  Tobin's  on  the  Indiana  side,  where  we  landed 
in  the  skiff.  The  squire  has  opened  a  fine  farm  in  the  three 
years  he  has  been  from  Redstone,  Pennsylvania. 

A  keel  of  forty  tons  came  to  the  landing  at  the  same  time 
we  did.  She  was  worked  by  a  horizontal  wheel,  kept  in 
motion  by  six  horses  going  round  in  a  circle  on  a  gallery  above 
the  boat,  by  which  are  turned  two  cog  wheels  fixed  each  to  an 
axle  which  projects  over  both  gunwales  of  the  boat,  one 
before  and  the  other  behind  the  horizontal  wheel.  Eight 
paddles  are  fixed  on  the  projecting  end  of  each  axle,  which 
impel  the  boat  about  five  or  six  miles  an  hour,  so  that  she 
can  be  forced  against  the  current  about  twenty  miles  a  day. 
One  Brookfield,  the  owner,  who  conducts  the  boat,  had  her 
built  last  year  about  two  miles  above  Louisville,  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  then  went  in  her  to  New  Orleans,  from  whence 
he  was  now  [240]  returning,  disposing  of  a  cargo  of  sugar 
from  place  to  place  in  his  ascent.  He  expected  to  get  home 
and  to  commence  a  second  voyage  in  about  a  month.  Seven 
horses  had  died  during  the  voyage,  and  he  had  only  two 
remaining  of  the  first  set  he  had  commenced  with. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  265 


CHAPTER  XL 

Scuffletown  —  A  good  military  position  —  Green  River  — 
Scarcity  of  stone  —  A  hospitable  Scotchman  —  Town  of 
Henderson  —  Cotton  machine  —  Diamond  island  —  Ban- 
ditti and  their  extermination  —  Former  dangers  in 
descending  the  rivers. 

We  continued  to  float  down  the  river  the  remainder 
of  the  14th  and  all  night,  fifty  miles  —  passing  Deer  creek, 
Windy  creek,  Anderson's  river  and  Crooked  creek,  and 
some  islands  —  the  banks  having  settlements  at  every 
mile  or  two.  The  shores  of  the  river  now  became  low,  the 
hills  being  lost  in  the  distance  on  each  side. 

May  15th. —  Having  passed  two  more  islands,  and  some 
new  farms,  in  nine  miles  and  a  half,  we  came  to  a  string  of 
six  or  seven  good  looking  settlements,  called  Scuffletown,  on 
the  left,  and  two  miles  and  a  half  farther  on  the  right,  we 
observed  two  new  settlements,  a  small  creek,  and  a  bluff 
rock,  serving  as  a  base  to  an  elevated  conick  promontory, 
terminating  a  wide  reach,  and  narrowing  the  river  so  by 
its  projection,  as  to  make  it  an  eligible  situation  for  a  forti- 
fied post.  Seven  miles  from  hence  we  came  to  Green 
river  on  the  left,  about  two  hundred  yards  wide.  It  falls 
into  the  Ohio  from  the  eastward,  and  at  the  junction  the 
latter  river,  changing  its  direction  from  S.  W.  to  west,  the  view 
of  it  upwards  is  lost,  [241]  and  looking  back  to  the  eastward. 
Green  river  appears  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  Ohio. 
Several  new  settlements  are  forming  on  the  banks  of  Green 
river,  the  climate  and  soil  being  well  adapted  to  the  culture 
of  cotton,  but  the  former  is  esteemed  unhealthy,  the  inhabi- 
tants being  very  subject  to  intermittent  fevers.  A  skiff 
boarded  us  here  from  an  ark  astern,  which  was  bound  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  from  whence  the  people  on  board 
were  to  proceed  in  a  keel  up  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Genevieve 


266  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

in  Upper  Louisiana."*    A  few  miles  farther  we  spoke  two 
large  loaded  canoes  bound  upwards. 

Nine  miles  below  Green  river,  we  passed  a  point  of  rocks 
on  the  right  —  the  only  stone  on  the  river  between  this 
and  Shawanee  town,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  on  which 
account  the  section  it  lies  in  was  bid  up  at  publick  sale  to 
ten  dollars  an  acre,  though  the  usual  price  is  two.  Three 
miles  from  hence  we  left  Blair's  ferry  on  the  right,  where  a 
road  crosses  from  Kentucky,  fifty-four  miles  to  Vincennes. 
A  mile  more  brought  us  to  Patterson's  on  the  right,  where 
we  landed  in  the  skiff.  Mr.  Patterson  is  a  Scotchman 
from  Aberdeen,  which  he  left  before  the  revolutionary  war, 
going  to  Grenada  in  the  West  Indies,  where  he  managed 
the  noble  estate  of  Harvey's  plains  (noted  for  its  rum  of  much 
superiour  quality)  nine  years.  The  liver  complaint  forced 
him  to  remove  from  thence  to  New  York,  where  he  married 
and  resided  several  years.  He  brought  his  family  from 
thence  to  this  place  last  year.  Mrs.  Patterson  thought 
they  were  to  find  a  country  abundant  in  e^'^ery  thing,  with 
little  or  no  trouble,  but  now,  being  undeceived  by  experience, 
she  jocularly  remarked,  that  if  the  current  of  the  river  would 
change,  she  would  most  gladly  seize  the  occasion  to  return 
immediately  to  where  she  came  from.  This  family  is  set- 
tled in  a  much  more  comfortable  manner  than  the  generality 
of  new  planters.  There  were  some  neighbours  on  a  [242] 
visit,  and  the  table  was  covered  for  supper  in  a  very  neat 
and  plentiful  manner,  which,  with  much  hospitality,  we 

*"  The  original  village  of  Ste.  Genevieve  was  about  three  miles  south  of  the 
present  Missouri  town  of  that  name.  The  exact  date  of  its  founding  is  not  known, 
but  it  was  upon  a  mining  grant  given  to  Regnault.  A  relic  of  a  chimney  found  in 
1881  bears  the  date  1732  —  possibly  the  first  year  of  the  settlement.  The  cession 
of  the  Illinois  to  the  English  (1763)  brought  an  accession  of  French  inhabitants;  and 
in  1766,  the  Spanish  ordered  to  Ste.  Genevieve  a  commandant  and  garrison.  The 
earliest  American  inhabitants  were  John  and  Israel  Dodge,  the  latter  being  father 
of  Governor  Henry  Dodge  of  Wisconsin.  The  encroachment  of  the  river  (about 
1784-85)  caused  the  old  to  be  abandoned  for  the  modem  site. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  267 

were  pressed  to  partake  of,  but  the  boats  having  passed,  we 
could  not  stop. 

Five  miles  from  hence  we  stopped  and  moored  for  the 
night  at  Henderson  or  Redbank.  This  is  the  county  town 
of  Henderson  county  in  Kentucky."^  It  contains  about 
twenty  wooden  houses  and  cabins,  including  two  stores  and 
two  large  tobacco  warehouses.  At  a  squire  M'Bride's  we 
saw  a  patent  machine,  which  gins,  cards  and  spins  cotton, 
all  at  once,  by  one  person  (it  may  be  a  child)  turning  a  wheel. 
Eight  threads  are  spun  at  once,  and  wound  upon  eight  spools. 
It  is  ingenious  and  simple,  and  occupies  no  more  room  than 
a  small  table. 

About  five  hundred  hogsheads  of  tobacco  are  shipped  here 
every  year,  and  the  place  now  begins  to  thrive  a  little,  since 
several  wealthy  people  have  settled  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  on  Green  river.  From  the  opposite  bank  a  road  leads 
to  Vincennes,  which  is  only  fifty-two  miles  distant. 

May  i6th. —  Proceeding,  we  went  to  the  right  of  Red- 
bank  island,  and  at  twelve  miles  passed  a  ferry  on  the  right, 
and  entered  the  right  hand  channel  of  Diamond  island  — 
there  being  settlements  every  half  mile.  Nothing  can  be 
more  beautifully  situated  than  this  fine  island.  It  is  four 
miles  and  a  half  long,  and  contains  eight  hundred  acres  of 
the  finest  land,  well  timbered. 

It  takes  its  name  from  its  form,  which  is  that  of  a  rhombus 
or  diamond.  The  river  is  above  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide 
all  around  it,  and  above  half  a  mile  wide  below  in  a  straight 
reach  of  two  or  three  miles.  It  is  owned  by  a  Mr.  Alvis,  a 
Scotchman,  of  great  property  in  South  Carolina,  who 
bought  it  about  two  years  ago  of  one  Wells,  the  original  loca- 
tor.   Alvis  has  a  negro  quarter,  and  near  one  hundred  and 

*'*  Henderson  County  was  formed  in  1798,  being  named  in  honor  of  Colonel 
Richard  Henderson  of  Transylvania  fame.  The  great  ornithologist,  John  James 
Audubon,  came  to  Henderson  in  1812;  but  it  was  not  until  many  years  later  that 
his  work  made  him  known  to  the  scientific  world. —  Ed. 


268  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

fifty  acres  of  land  cleared  on  the  Kentucky  shore  opposite 
[243]  the  island.  This  used  to  be  the  principal  haunt  of 
a  banditti,  from  twenty  to  thirty  in  number,  amongst  which 
the  names  of  Harper,  five  Masons,  and  Corkendale,  were 
the  most  conspicuous.  They  attacked  and  plundered  the 
passing  boats,  and  frequently  murdered  the  crews  and 
passengers.  At  length  the  government  of  Kentucky  sent 
a  detachment  of  militia  against  them.  They  were  sur- 
prised, and  Harper,  one  of  the  Masons  and  three  or 
four  more  were  shot,  one  in  the  arms  of  his  wife,  who 
escaped  unhurt  though  her  husband  received  eleven  balls. 
The  rest  dispersed,  and  again  recruiting,  became  under 
Mason  the  father,  the  terrour  of  the  road  through  the  wilder- 
ness between  Nashville  in  Tennessee  and  the  Mississippi 
Territory.  About  four  years  ago,  two  of  the  gang,  tempted 
by  the  reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  Mason  dead  or 
alive,  offered  by  the  govemour  of  Mississippi  Territory,  shot 
him,  carried  his  head  to  Natchez,  received  the  promised 
reward,  which  they  expected,  and  a  more  just  one  which 
they  did  not  expect,  being  both  found  guilty  of  belonging  to 
the  gang,  and  being  executed  accordingly."* 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  even  a  faint  idea  of  the  dangers 
to  which  people  descending  those  rivers  were  liable,  until 
within  a  few  years  that  the  population  of  the  banks  has 
become  general. 

The  Indians  could  not  brook  the  intrusion  of  the  whites 
on  the  hunting  grounds  and  navigable  waters  which  they 
had  been  in  habits  of  considering  as  their  own  property 
from  time  immemorial,  and  partly  through  revenge  for 
the  usurpation  of  their  rights,  partly  to  intimidate  others, 
but  chiefly  from  the  hopes  of  booty,  all  the  nations  in  the 

*"  The  tales  of  the  robberies  and  atrocities  of  the  Harpe  and  Mason  banditti 
are  numerous,  differing  largely  in  details.  Ciuning's  account  seems  to  be  fairly 
accurate.     See  Claiborne,  Mississippi  (Jackson,  1880),  pp.  225-228. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  269 

neighbourhood  of  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland,  the  Tennessee, 
and  the  Mississippi,  and  even  those  more  remote,  used  to 
send  detachments  of  warriours  and  hunters  to  lie  in  wait  in 
the  narrow  passes,  and  do  their  utmost  to  cut  off  all  travel- 
lers, in  which  they  often  succeeded  through  [244]  their  ex- 
pertness  with  the  rifle;  and  it  is  not  improbable  but  some 
white  desperadoes,  under  the  appearance  of  Indians,  were 
guilty  of  atrocities  of  the  same  nature  against  their  coun- 
trymen, without  the  shadow  of  any  of  the  excuses  afforded 
to  the  aborigines. 

CHAPTER  XLI 

Highland  creek  and  good  settlements  —  Carthage  —  Wabash 
island  —  Wabash  river  —  Shawanee  town  —  Saline  river 
and  salt  works — Remarkable  cavern — The  Rocking  cave. 

Seven  miles  below  Diamond  island,  we  came  to  Straight 
island,  and  nine  miles  further,  to  Slim  island,  which  is  three 
miles  and  a  half  long,  with  a  settlement  on  its  upper  end. 

Highland  creek,  the  mouth  blocked  up  with  drift,  is  three 
miles  below  Slim  island  on  the  left,  and  opposite  on  the 
Indiana  shore  are  three  families  of  Robinsons,  the  first  set- 
tlements in  that  distance.  There  is  a  fine  landing  just 
below  Highland  creek,  and  two  beautiful  settlements  owned 
by  Messrs.  Cooper  and  Austin,  and  a  framed  house  rented 
by  a  Mr.  Gilchrist,  a  temporary  settler."'  We  observed 
several  boats  laid  up  here,  which  had  lately  brought  families 
down  the  river,  which  are  all  settled  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  a  mile  lower  down,  we  passed  the  scite  of  an  intended 
town  caUed  Carthage,  but  where  there  is  yet  but  one  house. 

Two  miles  and  a  half  below,  we  entered  the  Indiana 
sound  of  Wabash  island,  in  a  west  direction,  leaving  the 
Kentucky  sound  (forming  a  beautiful  coup  d'ceil  with  a 

*'^  This  was  the  settlement  that  later  developed  into  Uniontown,  Kentucky,  a 
place  of  some  importance  on  the  lower  Ohio. —  Ed. 


270  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

small  island  and  clump  of  trees  directly  in  the  centre)  run- 
ning S.  W.  on  the  left. 

[245]  We  would  have  gone  through  the  latter  sound,  but 
for  a  wish  to  see  the  Wabash,^"  the  largest  river  in  Indiana, 
and  upon  which  its  capital  Vincennes  is  seated.  Its  mouth 
is  overlapped  from  three  miles  above  to  two  below  by  Wabash 
island,  which  is  five  miles  long  and  contains  three  thousand 
acres. 

The  Wabash  is  a  noble  river,  about  three  hundred  yards 
wide  at  its  mouth,  but  its  banks  are  so  low,  that  they  are 
overflowed  up  to  the  eves  of  two  cabins  which  are  just  above 
its  embouchure,  at  every  high  fresh.  The  inhabitants  had 
their  cattle  all  drowned  last  spring,  and  were  obliged  to 
save  themselves  by  going  some  miles  from  the  banks.  The 
cabin  next  the  point  where  the  two  rivers  join,  is  large  and 
has  a  tavern  sign. 

About  three  miles  below  the  end  of  Wabash  island,  leaving 
Brown's  island,  and  the  two  uppermost  of  the  Three  Sis- 
ters on  the  right,  we  rowed  to  the  Kentucky  shore,  and 
moored  for  the  night  just  under  the  cabin  and  well  improved 
farm  of  Peter  Lash,  who  has  been  here  four  years,  and  in- 
formed us,  that  there  was  a  fine  populous  settlement  of 
several  families  behind  us. 

May  17  th,  we  cast  off  at  the  dawn  of  day,  passed  the 
third  Sister,  and  a  lake  on  the  right  which  extends  about 
ten  miles  into  the  country,  and  abounds  in  fish,  and  at  seven 
miles  from  Lash's  we  rowed  in  among  some  trees,  and 
moored  and  landed  at  Shawanee  town."* 

This  was  formerly  an  Indian  settlement,  the  only  vestiges 
of  which  now  remaining,  are  two  barrows  for  interment  at 


"'  On  the  early  history  of  the  Wabash  River,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of 
this  series,  p.  137,  note  107. —  Ed. 

"*  On  the  early  history  of  Shawneetown,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  p.  138,  note  108. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  271 

the  upper  end,  and  a  growth  of  young  trees  all  around  the 
town,  which  evince  that  the  land  has  been  cleared,  at  no 
great  distance  of  time  back.  The  town  now  contains  about 
twenty-four  cabins,  and  is  a  place  of  considerable  resort  on 
account  of  the  saline  salt-works  about  twelve  miles  distant, 
which  supply  with  salt  all  the  settlements  within  one  [246] 
hundred  miles,  and  I  believe  even  the  whole  of  Upper 
Louisiana. 

The  United  States'  general  government  having  reserved 
to  itself  the  property  of  the  scite  of  this  town,  the  salt  licks, 
and  all  the  intermediate  tract  from  Saline  river,  the  inhabi- 
tants have  no  other  tenure  than  the  permission  of  the  gover- 
nour  of  the  territory  to  reside  there  during  his  pleasure,  so 
they  make  no  comfortable  improvements,  although  they 
appear  to  be  in  a  very  prosperous  situation  from  their  trade ; 
so  much  so,  that  they  say,  that  it  would  immediately  become 
one  of  the  most  considerable  towns  on  the  river,  if  they 
could  purchase  lots  in  fee  simple. —  There  were  several 
trading  boats  at  the  landing,  and  more  appearance  of  busi- 
ness than  I  had  seen  on  this  side  Pittsburgh.  We  walked 
to  the  Indian  burying  ground,  where  we  saw  several  human 
bones,  and  picked  up  some  of  the  small  copper  bells,  used 
by  the  natives  as  ornaments,  which  had  been  interred  with 
them,  and  which  had  become  as  thin  and  light  as  paper. 

May  1 8th,  proceeded  nine  miles  to  Saline  river  on  the 
right.  This  is  a  fine  stream,  fifty  yards  wide,  navigable  for 
keels  and  batteaux.  The  salt-works  are  about  twenty 
miles  up  it  with  the  turnings  of  the  river,  though  not  over 
ten  in  a  right  line.  There  is  a  considerable  hill  on  the 
right,  on  the  lower  bank  of  this  river  where  it  joins  the 
Ohio. 

Five  miles  from  Saline  river,  we  passed  Battery  rock, 
which  is  a  very  remarkable  point  of  rocks  on  the  right, 
with  a  cabin  and  farm  beautifully  situated  on  the  hill  above. 


272  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

We  now  began  to  see  river  hills  again,  rising  to  a  moderate 
height,  from  a  little  behind  the  banks  on  each  side. 

Four  miles  from  hence  we  left  Flinn's  ferry,  where  is  a 
very  handsome  settlement  on  the  left.  Three  miles  and  a 
half  farther  brought  us  to  the  upper  end  of  Rocking  cave 
island,  just  above  which  the  river  is  [247]  a  mile  wide,  and 
in  another  mile  we  saw  on  the  right  Casey's  farm,  where  the 
landing  abounds  in  curious  loose  limestone  petrifactions. 
Two  thirds  of  a  mile  from  hence,  we  thought  we  saw  the 
Rocking  cave,  when  we  observed  a  cavern  forty-five  feet 
deep,  three  wide,  and  nine  high,  the  floor  ascending  grad- 
ually to  the  vault  at  the  end,  where  it  is  terminated  by  a 
petrifaction,  like  the  hanging  pipes  of  a  large  organ. —  The 
sides  which  meet  at  the  top,  forming  a  Gothick  arch,  are  of 
limestone,  with  several  large  nuclei  of  flint,  which  seem  to 
have  been  broken  off  designedly  to  smooth  the  inside  of  the 
cavern. 

Rowing  along  shore  with  the  skiff,  we  were  soon  unde- 
ceived as  to  that's  being  the  Rocking  cave,  as  a  third  of  a  mile 
lower  down,  one  of  the  finest  grottos  or  caverns  I  have  ever 
seen,  opened  suddenly  to  view,  resembling  the  choir  of  a 
large  church  as  we  looked  directly  into  it.  We  landed  im- 
mediately under  it  and  entered  it.  It  is  natural,  but  is 
evidently  improved  by  art  in  the  cutting  of  an  entrance  three 
feet  wide  through  the  rock  in  the  very  centre,  leaving  a 
projection  on  each  hand  excavated  above  to  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  cavern,  the  projections  resembling  galleries. 
The  height  of  the  mouth  is  about  twenty-two,  and  that 
of  the  rock  about  thirty.  It  is  crowned  by  large  cedars 
and  black  and  white  oaks,  some  of  which  impend  over,  and 
several  beautiful  shrubs  and  flowers,  particularly  very  rich 
columbines,  are  thickly  scattered  aU  around  the  entrance. 
The  length  (or  depth)  of  the  cavern  is  fifty-five  paces,  and 
its  breadth  eleven  or  twelve. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  273 

Standing  on  the  outside,  the  appearance  of  some  of  the 
company  at  the  inner  end  of  the  cave  was  truly  picturesque, 
they  being  diminished  on  the  eye  to  half  their  size,  and 
removed  to  three  times  their  real  distance. 

On  advancing  twenty  paces  within,  the  path  or  aisle 
gradually  ascending  has  risen  to  the  level  of  the  [248]  galleries, 
and  from  thence  to  the  end  is  a  spacious  apartment  of  the 
whole  breadth,  ascending  until  it  meets  the  rocky  vault, 
which  is  of  bluish  grey  limestone.  Twelve  paces  from  the 
end  is  a  j&ssure  in  the  vault,  to  which  is  fixed  a  notched 
pole,  to  serve  for  a  ladder,  but  the  cavity  has  the  appearance 
of  nothing  more  than  a  natural  cleft  in  the  rock,  large  enough 
to  admit  the  entrance  of  a  man,  and  perhaps  extending  some 
little  distance  sloping  upwards."" 

There  is  a  perpendicular  rocky  bluff,  just  opposite  the 
lower  end  of  Cave  island,  about  two  hundred  yards  above 
the  cave,  where  the  river  narrows  to  less  than  half  a  mile 
wide,  forming  a  fine  situation  for  a  fortification. 

CHAPTER  XLII 

Extortion  of  a  countrywoman  —  Robins's  ferry  —  Lusk's 
ferry  —  Cumberland  river  —  Smithland  —  Tennessee 
river  —  Fort  Massack  —  Wilkinsonville  —  Ship  Rufus 
King  —  Enter  the  Mississippi. 

Half  a  mile  below  the  Rocking  cave,  we  stopped  at 
Perkins's  finely  situated  farm,  where  we  feasted  on  some 
good  buttermilk,  and  bought  some  eggs,  but  on  demanding 
the  price,  and  being  asked  by  Mrs.  Perkins,  with  an  un- 
blushing face,  four  times  as  much  as  we  had  hitherto  paid 
for  the  first  article,  and  twice  as  much  as  had  ever  been 
demanded  for  the  second,  we  left  the  eggs  with  her,  and  paid 
her  for  the  buttermilk,  not  however  without  telling  her,  how 

""This  is  now  known  as  Cave-in-Rock,  from  a  large  cave  (Hardin  County, 
Illinois)  in  which  a  band  of  robbers  hid  themselves  (1801). —  Ed. 


274  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

much  she  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  take  such  advantage  of 
the  necessities  of  travellers. 

The  right  hand  shore  now  consisted  of  bold  projecting 
rocks,  with  openings  at  intervals,  in  all  of  [249]  which  are 
settlements,  while  the  Kentucky  side  being  low  is  more 
thinly  inhabited. 

After  passing  Hurricane  island,  we  came  to  Robins' s 
ferry  on  the  right,  from  whence  is  a  road  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  to  Kaskaskias  on  the  Mississippi,  and  about 
two  miles  lower  on  the  left,  we  observed  one  of  the  finest 
situations  we  had  seen  on  the  Ohio;  it  was  a  hill  occupied 
by  a  house  and  farm,  opposite  to  a  rectangular  bend  of  the 
river  which  forms  a  beautiful  bason.  Three  miles  further 
on  the  right,  is  a  hill  with  a  remarkable  face  to  the  river,  of 
perpendicular  rocks  of  a  reddish  colour,  below  which,  is  a 
settlement  and  a  creek,  from  whence  Cumberland  river  is 
twenty-five  miles  distant. 

Four  miles  more  brought  us  to  Lusk's  ferry  on  the  right, 
now  owned  by  one  Ferguson  from  South  Carolina,  who  has 
a  very  good  house  and  fine  farm,  with  Little  Bay  creek 
joining  the  Ohio  just  above.  The  main  road  from  Ken- 
tucky to  Kaskaskias  crosses  here  —  the  latter  distant  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  miles. 

Having  passed  the  Three  Sisters'  islands  and  Big  Bay 
creek  on  the  right,  at  eleven  miles  below  Ferguson's,  we 
rowed  in  to  the  right  shore,  and  moored  to  some  trees,  where 
we  had  a  heavy  storm  all  night,  with  thunder,  lightning,  and 
hail  as  large  as  pigeons'  eggs. 

May  19th,  proceeding  at  early  dawn,  we  passed  Stewart's 
island  on  the  left,  and  the  first  of  Cumberland  islands  on 
the  right,  just  below  which,  we  observed  on  the  Indian 
shore,  the  fine  settlement  we  had  seen  from  Big  Bay  creek, 
nine  miles. 

With  some  diflSculty  and  much  rowing,  we  forced  our 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  275 

boats  into  the  narrow  Kentucky  channel  of  the  second 
Cumberland  island  a  mile  below  the  first,  as  otherwise  we 
should  not  have  been  able  to  have  got  into  Cumberland 
river,  which  the  second  island  overlaps.  A  mile  more 
brought  us  to  the  entrance  of  [250]  Cumberland  river,  across 
which  we  rowed,  and  moored  at  the  little  town  of  Smithland. 

This  town  contains  only  ten  or  a  dozen  houses  and  cabins, 
including  two  stores,  two  taverns  and  a  billiard  table. 
There  appears  to  be  only  about  thirty  acres  of  land,  badly 
cleared  and  worse  cultivated  around  it,  though  the  soil 
seems  very  good,  but  as  it  is  as  yet  only  considered  as  a 
temporary  landing  to  boats  bound  up  and  down  Cum- 
berland river,  the  inhabitants  depend  on  what  they  can 
make  by  their  intercourse  with  them,  and  are  not  solicitous 
to  cultivate  more  land  than  will  suffice  to  give  them  maize 
enough  for  themselves  and  their  horses.  They  live  chiefly 
on  bacon,  which  comes  down  the  two  rivers,  and  corn,  being 
too  indolent  to  butcher  or  to  fish,  though  they  might  raise 
any  quantity  of  stock,  and  doubtless  the  Ohio  and  Cumber- 
land both  abound  in  fish.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  miserable 
place,  and  a  traveller  will  scarcely  think  himself  repaid  by  a 
sight  of  the  Cumberland,  for  stopping  at  Smithland. 

There  is  an  old  Indian  burying  ground  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  town,  where  we  found  several  human  bones  enclosed 
in  thin  flattish  stone  tombs  close  to  the  surface. 

Cumberland  river  mixes  its  clear  blue  stream  with  the 
muddy  Ohio  at  an  embouchure  of  about  three  hundred 
yards  wide.  It  is  the  principal  river  for  business  in  the 
state  of  Tennessee,  Nashville  the  capital,  being  situated 
on  its  banks,  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  by  water,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty  by  land,  above  its  conflux  with  the 
Ohio."^ 


"*  For  the  early  history  of  Nashville,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this 
series,  p.  6i,  note  103. —  Ed. 


276  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

May  20th,  having  parted  with  Mrs.  Waters,  her  charming 
daughter,  and  the  rest  of  her  family,  they  being  destined 
for  Nashville,  we  cast  off,  and  rowed  out  of  Cumberland 
river  against  the  back  water  of  the  Ohio,  whose  true  current 
we  took  on  turning  the  lower  point  of  Cumberland. 

[251]  The  first  three  miles  brought  us  abreast  of  Lower 
Smithland,  a  settlement  on  the  left  —  having  passed  all 
Cumberland  islands,  and  after  dropping  four  miles  lower, 
the  sea  ran  so  high,  from  a  strong  wind  up  the  river,  that 
we  judged  it  prudent  to  row  in  and  moor  under  a  low  willow 
point  on  the  left,  where  we  remained  all  the  rest  of  the  day 
and  night,  and  had  a  violent  tornado  at  midnight,  of  thunder, 
lightning,  wind,  and  rain. 

May  2 1  St,  we  proceeded  early  this  morning  and  at  five 
miles  and  a  half  passed  the  mouth  of  Tennessee  river  join- 
ing the  Ohio  on  the  left  from  the  S.  E.  and  nearly  half  a  mile 
wide.  There  are  two  islands  at  its  mouth,  the  second  one 
of  which  has  an  abandoned  settlement  on  it.  In  the  next 
eleven  miles  we  passed  three  small  settlements  on  the  right, 
being  the  first  habitations  we  had  seen  below  Lower  Smith- 
land,  and  at  noon,  a  mile  below  the  last,  we  rowed  into  the 
mouth  of  a  creek  at  the  bottom  of  a  bay,  which  forming  an 
eddy,  makes  a  fine  landing  for  boats  of  all  sizes,  on  the  right 
shore. 

On  fastening  the  boat,  a  corporal  from  Fort  Massack 
just  above  the  landing,  came  on  board,  and  took  a  memo- 
randum of  our  destination,  &c.  We  landed,  and  approach- 
ing the  fort,  we  were  met  by  lieutenant  Johnston,  who  very 
politely  shewed  us  the  barracks,  and  his  own  quarters 
within  the  fort,  in  front  of  which  is  a  beautiful  esplanade, 
with  a  row  of  Lombardy  poplars  in  front,  from  whence  is  a 
view  upwards  to  Tennessee  river,  downwards  about  two 
miles,  and  the  opposite  shore  which  is  one  mile  and  a  quarter 
distant  —  the  Ohio  being  now  so  wide. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  277 

The  fort  is  formed  of  pickets,  and  is  a  square,  with  a 
small  bastion  at  each  angle.  The  surrounding  plain  is 
cleared  to  an  extent  of  about  sixty  acres,  to  serve  for  exer- 
cising the  garrison  in  military  evolutions,  and  also  to  pre- 
vent surprise  from  an  enemy.  On  the  esplanade  is  a  small 
brass  howitzer,  and  a  [252]  brass  caronade  two  pounder, 
both  mounted  on  field  carriages,  and  a  centinel  is  always 
kept  here  on  guard.  The  garrison  consists  of  about  fifty 
men.  Some  recruits  were  exercising.  They  were  clean, 
and  tolerably  well  clothed,  and  were  marched  in  to  the  bar- 
rack yard  preceded  by  two  good  drums  and  as  many  fifes. 
The  house  of  captain  Bissel  the  commandant,  is  without 
the  pickets. 

Though  the  situation  of  Massack  is  pleasant  and  appar- 
ently healthy,  it  is  a  station  which  will  only  suit  such  ofl&cers 
as  are  fond  of  retirement,  as  there  is  no  kind  of  society 
out  of  the  garrison,  and  there  are  only  a  few  settlements 
in  the  neighbourhood,  which  supply  it  with  fresh  stock. 

This  was  one  of  the  chain  of  posts  which  the  French  occu- 
pied between  Detroit  and  Orleans,  when  that  nation  pos- 
sessed Canada  and  Louisiana.  It  had  fallen  into  ruin, 
but  it  has  been  reconstructed  by  the  United  States'  govern- 
ment. It  keeps  its  original  name,  which  it  derived  from  a 
massacre  of  the  French  garrison  by  the  Indians."' 

At  one  o'clock  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage,  and  in  half 
a  mile  turning  a  little  to  the  right  with  the  river,  we  entered 
a  very  long  reach  in  a  W.  N.  W.  direction,  and  at  three 
miles  passed  a  new  settlement  on  the  right  where  the  river 

*"  On  the  history  of  Fort  Massac,  and  the  origin  of  its  name,  see  Michaux's 
Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  73,  note  139. 

Captain  Daniel  Bissell,  the  commandant  at  this  point,  had  welcomed  Burr 
on  his  descent  of  the  Ohio  two  years  before  Cuming.  Bissell  joined  the  army  from 
Connecticut  as  lieutenant,  in  1794,  being  made  captain  in  1799.  During  the  War 
of  1812-15,  he  became  brigadier-general  and  served  on  the  northern  frontier, 
winning  a  slight  skirmish  at  Lyons  Creek.  He  resigned  from  the  army  in  182 1, 
and  died  in  1833. —  Ed. 


278  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

is  two  miles  wide,  with  a  very  gentle  current.  The  current 
carried  us  twelve  miles  and  a  half  farther,  without  our  per- 
ceiving any  signs  of  inhabitants  on  either  shore,  we  then 
rowed  in  to  Cedar  Bluffs  or  Wilkinsonville,  where  we  found 
an  eddy  making  a  fine  harbour,  and  an  ascent  up  a  low 
cliff  by  sixty-two  steps  of  squared  logs,  to  a  beautiful  savan- 
nah or  prairie  of  about  one  hundred  acres,  with  well  fre- 
quented paths  through  and  across  it  in  every  direction.  We 
observed  on  it,  the  ruins  of  the  house  of  the  commandant, 
and  the  barracks  which  were  occupied  by  a  small  United 
States'  garrison,  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  removed 
[253]  to  Fort  Massack;  some  time  after  which,  about  two 
years  ago,  the  buildings  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians. 

Though  our  harbour  here  was  a  good  one,  yet  we  did 
not  spend  our  night  with  perfect  ease  of  mind,  from  the 
apprehension  of  an  unwelcome  visit  from  the  original  lords 
of  this  country,  recent  vestiges  of  whom  we  had  seen  in  the 
prairie  above  us. 

May  22nd,  at  day  break  we  gladly  cast  off,  and  at  a  mile 
below  Wilkinsonville,  turned  to  the  left  into  a  long  reach  in 
a  S.  W.  by  S.  direction,  where  in  nine  miles  farther,  the  river 
gradually  narrows  to  half  a  mile  wide,  and  the  current  is 
one  fourth  stronger  than  above.  Three  miles  lower  we  saw 
a  cabin  and  small  clearing  on  the  right  shore,  apparently 
abandoned,  five  miles  below  which  we  landed  in  the  skiff, 
and  purchased  some  fowls,  eggs,  and  milk,  at  a  solitary  but 
pleasant  settlement  on  the  right  just  below  Cash  island.  It 
is  occupied  by  one  Petit  with  his  family,  who  stopped  here 
to  make  a  crop  or  two-  previous  to  his  descending  the 
Mississippi,  according  to  his  intention  on  some  future 
day. 

Two  miles  and  a  half  from  hence  we  left  Cash  river,  a 
fine  harbour  for  boats  about  thirty  yards  wide  at  its  mouth, 
on  the  right,  and  from  hence  we  had  a  pleasant  and  cheer- 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  279 

ful  view  down  the  river,  in  a  S.  S.  E.  direction  five  miles  to 
the  Mississippi. 

First  on  the  right  just  below  the  mouth  of  Cash  river, 
M'MuUin's  pleasant  settlement,  and  a  little  lower  a  cabin 
occupied  by  a  tenant  who  labours  for  him.  A  ship  at 
anchor  close  to  the  right  shore,  three  mUes  lower  down, 
enlivened  the  view,  which  was  closed  below  by  colonel 
Bird's  flourishing  settlement  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.^®' 

We  soon  passed  and  spoke  the  ship,  which  was  the  Rufus 
King,  captain  Clarke,  receiving  a  cargo  of  tobacco,  &c.  by 
boats  down  the  river  from  Kentucky,  and  intended  to  pro- 
ceed in  about  a  week,  on  a  voyage  [254]  to  Baltimore.  It 
was  now  a  year  since  she  was  built  at  Marietta,  and  she  had 
got  no  farther  yet. 

At  noon  we  entered  the  Mississippi  flowing  from  E.  above, 
to  E.  by  S.  below  the  conflux  of  the  Ohio,  which  differs  con- 
siderably from  its  general  course  of  from  north  to  south. . 

CHAPTER  XLIII 

River  Mississippi  —  Iron  banks  —  Chalk  bank  —  Re- 
markable melody  of  birds  —  Bayou  St.  Jean  —  New 
Madrid  —  Delightful  morning  —  Little  Prairie  —  An 
Indian  camp  —  Mansfield's  island. 

We  had  thought  the  water  of  the  Ohio  very  turbid,  but 
it  was  clear  in  comparison  of  the  Mississippi,  the  two  rivers 
being  distinctly  marked  three  or  four  miles  after  their  junc- 
tion. The  Ohio  carried  us  out  almost  into  the  middle  of 
the  Mississippi,  so  that  I  was  almost  deceived  into  thinking 
that  the  latter  river  ran  to  the  westward  instead  of  to  the 


*"  The  Missouri  point  opposite  Cairo  was  acquired  by  an  American  from  the 
Spanish  government,  but  no  settlement  seems  to  have  been  made  thereon  until 
1808,  when  Abraham  Bird,  who  had  several  years  previous  removed  from  Virginia 
to  Cairo,  crossed  over  and  built  a  home  at  this  place,  thereafter  known  as  Bird's 
Point.    This  property  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Birds  for  three  generations. —  Ed. 


28o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

eastward;  by  the  time  however  that  we  were  near  midchan- 
nel  the  Mississippi  had  gained  the  ascendancy,  and  we  were 
forced  to  eastward  with  encreased  velocity,  its  current  being 
more  rapid  than  that  of  the  Ohio.  We  soon  lost  sight  of  the 
labyrinth  of  waters  formed  by  the  conflux  of  the  two  rivers, 
and  quickly  got  into  a  single  channel,  assuming  gradually 
its  usual  southerly  direction.  We  now  began  to  look  for 
Fort  Jefferson,  marked  in  Mr.  Cramer's  Navigator  as  just 
above  Mayfield  creek  on  the  left,  but  not  seeing  either  we 
supposed  they  were  concealed  by  island  No.  i  acting  as  a 
screen  to  them."* 

At  fifteen  miles  from  the  Ohio,  we  observed  a  fine  new 
settlement  on  the  right,  with  the  boats  moored  [255]  at  the 
landing  which  had  brought  the  family  down  the  river. 

Five  miles  lower  we  passed  the  Iron  banks  on  the  left. 
These  are  very  remarkable,  being  a  red  cliff  near  the  top  of  a 
high  ridge  of  hills  about  a  mile  long,  where  the  river  is  nar- 
rowed to  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide. 

From  the  Iron  banks  a  fine  bay  of  a  mile  in  breadth  is 
terminated  by  the  Chalk  bank,  which  is  a  whitish  brown 
bluff  cliff,  rising  from  the  water's  edge,  surmounted  by  a 
forest  of  lofty  trees.  Having  passed  some  other  islands,  we 
made  a  harbour  for  the  night  on  Wolf  island  just  opposite 
Chalk  bank,  about  three  miles  below  the  Iron  banks. 

May  23d. —  A  steady  rain  did  not  prevent  our  proceeding 
this  morning.  We  found  the  river  generally  from  half  to 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  and  the  navigation  rather 
intricate  on  account  of  the  number  of  islands  and  sand-bars, 


"*  Fort  Jefferson  was  built  by  George  Rogers  Claxk  in  the  spring  of  1780,  in 
order  to  protect  the  Illinois  settlements,  and  maintain  the  Virginian  claim  to  this 
part  of  the  territory.  Clark  planned  a  town  here  to  receive  his  own  name  (Clarks- 
ville);  but  few  settlers  went  out,  as  the  post  was  distant  and  much  exposed.  In 
1781,  Fort  Jefiferson  was  besieged  by  the  Chickasaws  under  the  lead  of  a  half- 
breed,  Alexander  Colbum.  Timely  assistance  arriving,  the  siege  was  raised,  but 
the  fort  was  abandoned  in  June  of  the  same  year. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  281 

which  gave  us  some  trouble  to  keep  clear  of.  The  rain 
ceased  about  three  o'clock,  when  it  cleared  up  calm  and  hot. 
At  4  o'clock  we  passed  Island  No.  10,  on  the  right.  The 
singing  of  the  birds  on  this  island  exceeded  every  thing  of 
the  kind  I  had  ever  before  heard  in  America.  Notes  re- 
sembling the  wild  clear  whistle  of  the  European  black  birds, 
and  others  like  the  call  of  the  quail,  or  American  partridge, 
were  particularly  distinguishable  among  a  wonderful  variety 
of  feathered  songsters.  The  island  probably  bears  some 
vegetable  production  peculiar  to  itself,  which  attracts  such 
uncommon  numbers  of  small  birds. 

At  seven,  P.  M.  we  rowed  into  Bayou  St.  Jean,  on  the 
right,  at  the  upper  end  of  New  Madrid,  to  which  settlement 
it  serves  for  a  harbour, —  having  only  advanced  about  fifty 
miles  this  whole  day.  We  found  here  several  boats  bound 
down  the  river. 

New  Madrid  contains  about  a  hundred  houses,  much 
scattered,  on  a  fine  plain  of  two  miles  square,  [256]  on 
which  however  the  river  has  so  encroached  during  the 
twenty- two  years  since  it  was  first  settled,  that  the  bank  is 
now  half  a  mile  behind  its  old  bounds,  and  the  inhabitants 
have  had  to  remove  repeatedly  farther  back.  They  are  a 
mixture  of  French  Creoles  from  Illinois,  United  States 
Americans,  and  Germans.  They  have  plenty  of  cattle, 
but  seem  in  other  respects  to  be  very  poor.  There  is  some 
trade  with  the  Indian  hunters  for  furs  and  peltry,  but  of 
little  consequence.  Dry  goods  and  groceries  are  enormously 
high,  and  the  inhabitants  charge  travellers  immensely  for 
any  common  necessaries,  such  as  milk,  butter,  fowls,  eggs, 
&c.  There  is  a  militia,  the  officers  of  which  wear  cockades 
in  common  as  a  mark  of  distinction,  although  the  rest  of 
their  dress  should  be  only  a  dirty  ragged  hunting  shirt  and 
trowsers. — There  is  a  church  going  to  decay  and  no  preacher, 
and  there  are  courts  of  common  pleas  and  quarter  sessions, 


282  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

from  which  an  appeal  lies  to  the  supreme  court  at  St.  Louis, 
the  capital  of  the  territory  of  Upper  Louisiana,  whith  is  two 
hundred  and  forty  miles  to  the  northward,  by  a  wagon  road 
which  passes  through  St.  Genevieve  at  180  miles  distance. — 
On  account  of  its  distance  from  the  capital.  New  Madrid 
has  obtained  a  right  to  have  all  trials  for  felony  held  and 
adjudged  here  without  appeal. 

The  inhabitants  regret  much  the  change  of  government 
from  Spanish  to  American,  but  this  I  am  not  surprised  at, 
as  it  is  the  nature  of  mankind  to  never  be  satisfied."^ 

We  had  observed  no  settlements  between  the  Ohio  and 
New  Madrid  except  one  new  one  before  mentioned. 

May  24th. —  At  eight,  A.  M.  we  left  New  Madrid,  and 
after  toiling  until  three,  P.  M.  against  a  fresh  southerly 
wind,  when  we  had  advanced  only  eleven  miles,  we  were 
forced  to  shore  on  the  left,  and  hauling  through  some  wil- 
lows which  broke  off  [257]  the  sea,  moored  and  remained 
there  until  four  A.  M. 

May  25th  —  when  we  were  awoke  to  the  enjoyment  of  a 
delightful  morning,  by  the  enchanting  melody  of  the  birds 
saluting  the  day,  while  the  horn  of  a  boat  floating  down  the 
far  side  of  the  river,  was  echoed  and  re-echoed  from  both 
shores,  to  all  which  we  added,  with  fine  effect,  some  airs  on 
the  clarionet  and  the  octave  flute.  When  we  hauled  out  of 
the  willows,  several  boats  were  in  sight,  which  added  much 
to  the  cheerfulness  of  the  morning. 

*^  New  Madrid  was  originally  the  site  of  a  Delaware  Indian  town,  at  which  two 
Canadians,  named  LeSueur,  established  a  trading-house  in  1780.  Eight  years  later 
Colonel  George  Morgan  attempted  to  obtain  a  large  concession  from  the  Spanish 
government  to  establish  an  American  colony  at  this  point,  with  rights  of  local 
self-government.  Morgan  brought  out  the  first  installment  of  colonists,  but  the 
arrangements  at  New  Orleans  which  were  to  confirm  his  title  to  the  grant  failed 
of  completion.  The  Spanish  authorities  sent  Lieutenant  Pierre  Foucher,  with  a 
garrison  of  ninety  men,  to  command  here  in  1789.  A  settlement  of  a  heterogeneous 
character,  as  Cuming  indicates,  gradually  grew  up  around  the  fort.  The  later 
history  of  New  Madrid  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  disastrous  earthquakes  of 
1811-12,  and  the  congressional  grant  of  relief  for  the  settlers. —  Ed. 


1 807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  283 

Having  passed  several  islands,  we  saw  on  the  right  the 
settlement  of  one  Biddle,  being  the  first  on  the  river  since 
four  miles  below  New  Madrid. 

Four  miles  lower  we  landed  in  the  skiff  at  the  town  of 
Little  Prairie  on  the  right,  containing  twenty-four  low 
houses  and  cabins,  scattered  on  a  fine  and  pleasant  plain 
inhabited  chiefly  by  French  Creoles  from  Canada  and 
Illinois.  We  were  informed  that  there  were  several  Anglo- 
American  farmers  all  round  in  a  circle  of  ten  miles.  We 
stopped  at  a  tavern  and  store  kept  by  a  European  French- 
man, where  we  got  some  necessaries. 

Every  thing  is  excessively  dear  here,  as  in  New  Madrid  — 
butter  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  per  pound,  milk  half  a  dollar  per 
gallon,  eggs  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  a  dozen,  and  fowls  half 
to  three  quarters  of  a  dollar  each. 

We  found  here  five  lumber  loaded  boats  owned  by  Mr. 
Holmes  of  Meadville,  which  had  left  Pittsburgh  about  the 
20th  of  March.  Three  of  them  had  been  stove,  and  they 
were  going  to  unload  and  repair  them. 

Continuing  to  coast  along  in  the  skiff,  while  our  ark  fell 
down  the  river  with  the  current,  we  landed  about  a  mile 
below  Little  Prairie,  at  an  Indian  camp  formed  by  the 
crews  of  three  canoes,  all  Delawares  except  one  Chocktaw. 
They  had  sold  their  peltry  [258]  and  were  now  enjoying  their 
whiskey,  of  which  they  had  made  such  liberal  use  as  to  be 
most  of  them  quite  drunk.  They  did  not  seem  to  like  our 
intrusion,  but  on  our  demanding  whiskey  from  them,  and 
drinking  with  them,  they  became  more  social. 

Two  miles  below  the  Indian  camp  we  again  overtook  our 
boat  from  which  we  had  been  absent  the  last  fourteen  miles, 
and  seven  miles  lower,  met  a  canoe  with  two  Indians,  who 
wanted  to  sell  us  skins. —  After  passing  several  islands  as 
far  as  No.  21,  of  Mr.  Cramer's  Navigator,  in  twelve  miles 
farther,  we  came  to  one  not  mentioned  in  the  Navigator, 


284  E,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

which  we  named  Mansfield's  island,  from  one  of  our  pas- 
sengers who  was  the  first  to  land  on  it.  It  was  a  beautiful 
little  island,  and  the  evening  being  far  advanced,  we  were 
tempted  to  moor  at  its  west  point,  to  some  willows  on  a  fine 
hard  sand,  but  we  had  nothing  to  boast  of  our  choice  of 
situation,  as  myriads  of  musquitoes  effectually  prevented 
our  sleeping  all  night. 

CHAPTER  XLIV 

Visit  from  Indian  warriours  —  Our  apprehensions  —  Indian 
manners  and  customs  not  generally  known  —  First, 
Second  and  Third  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  and  several  islands. 

May  26. —  We  drifted  forty- three  miles,  between  five 
o'clock,  A.  M.  and  five  o'clock  P.  M. —  passing  several 
islands  and  sand-bars,  and  had  got  between  island  No.  31 
and  Flour  island,  when  an  Indian  canoe  from  the  left  shore 
boarded  us  with  a  chief  and  three  warriours  of  the  Shawanee 
nation."'  They  had  their  rifles  in  the  boat,  and  their 
knives  [259]  and  tomahawks  in  their  belts,  and  it  is  my 
opinion  that  their  intentions  were  hostile  had  they  seen  any 
thing  worth  plundering,  or  found  us  intimidated  —  but  by 
receiving  them  with  a  confident  familiarity,  and  treating 
them  cautiously  with  a  little  whiskey,  they  behaved  tolerably 
well,  and  bartered  a  wild  turkey  which  one  of  them  had  shot 
for  some  flour,  though  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  they 
would  have  made  a  compliment  of  it  to  us  in  return  for  our 
civility  to  them,  as  besides  giving  them  whiskey  to  drink, 
we  had  given  them  good  wheat  loaf  bread  to  eat,  and  had 
filled  a  bottle  they  had  in  their  canoe  with  whiskey  for  their 
squaws  at  the  camp.  It  is  remarked,  that  the  Indians  are 
not  in  habits  of  generous  acts,  either  through  the  niggardli- 
ness of  nature,  or  selfish  mode  of  bringing  up ;  or  it  may  be 

'*  On  the  Shawnee  Indians,  see  Weiser's  Journal,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  23^ 
note  13. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  285 

owing  to  their  intercourse  with  the  white  hunters  and  traders, 
who  take  every  advantage  of  them  in  their  deahngs,  and  so 
set  them  an  example  of  selfishness  and  knavery,  which  they 
attempt  to  follow.  Our  skiff  which  had  been  absent  with 
some  of  the  passengers  now  coming  on  board,  encreased  our 
numbers  so  as  to  render  us  more  respectable  in  the  eyes  of  our 
troublesome  visitors,  and  being  abreast  of  their  camp, 
where  the  party  appeared  pretty  numerous,  they  shook 
hands  with,  and  left  us,  to  our  great  joy,  as  we  were  not 
without  apprehension  that  they  would  have  received  a  rein- 
forcement of  their  companions  from  the  shore,  which  in  our 
defenceless  state  would  have  been  a  most  disagreeable  cir- 
cumstance. 

They  were  well  formed  men,  with  fine  countenances, 
and  their  chief  was  well  drest,  having  good  leggins  and 
mockasins,  and  large  tin  ear-rings,  and  his  foretop  of  hair 
turned  up,  and  ornamented  with  a  quantity  of  beads. 

Evening  approaching,  we  plied  our  oars  diligently,  to 
remove  ourselves  as  far  as  possible  from  the  Indian  camp 
before  we  should  stop  for  the  night,  and  by  six  [260]  o'clock 
we  had  the  upper  end  of  Flour  island  on  our  right,  three 
miles  below  where  the  Indians  had  left  us.  The  river  mak- 
ing a  sudden  bend  here  from  east  to  south,  we  lost  sight  of 
the  smoke  of  the  camp,  and  of  our  apprehensions  also,  and 
about  a  mile  farther,  seeing  a  South  Carolina  and  a  Pitts- 
burgh boat  moored  at  the  left  bank,  we  rowed  in  and  joined 
them.  Near  the  landing  was  a  newly  abandoned  Indian 
camp,  the  trees  having  been  barked  only  within  a  day  or 
two.  To  explain  this  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that  the 
Indians,  who  are  wanderers,  continually  shifting  their 
hunting  ground,  form  their  temporary  huts  with  two  forked 
stakes,  stuck  in  the  ground,  at  from  six  to  twelve  feet  apart, 
and  from  four  to  six  feet  high.  A  ridge  pole  is  laid  from 
fork  to  fork,  and  long  pieces  of  bark  stripped  from  the       • 


286  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

neighbouring  trees,  are  placed  on  their  ends  at  a  sufficient 
distance  below,  while  the  other  ends  overlap  each  other 
where  they  meet  at  the  ridge  pole,  the  whole  forming  a  hut 
shaped  like  the  roof  of  a  common  house,  in  which  they 
make  a  fire,  and  the  men,  when  not  hunting,  lounge  at  full 
length  wrapped  in  their  blankets,  or  sit  cross  legged,  while 
the  women  do  the  domestick  drudgery,  or  make  baskets  of 
various  shapes  with  split  cane,  which  they  do  with  great 
neatness,  and  a  certain  degree  of  ingenuity.  If  any  of  the 
men  die  while  on  an  excursion,  they  erect  a  scafiFold  about  five 
feet  high,  on  which  they  place  the  corpse  covered  with  the 
skin  of  a  deer,  a  bear,  or  some  other  animal  they  have  killed 
in  hunting.  The  dead  man's  rifle,  tomahawk,  bow  and 
arrows  are  placed  along  side  of  him  on  the  scaffold,  to  which 
the  whole  is  bound  with  strings  cut  from  some  hide.  It  is 
then  surrounded  with  stout  poles  or  stakes,  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long,  drove  firmly  into  the  ground  and  so  close  to  each 
other  as  not  to  admit  the  entry  of  a  small  bird.  Some  of 
the  female  relations,  are  left  in  the  hut  close  to  the  scaffold, 
until  the  excursion  is  [261]  finished;  when,  ere  they  return 
home  to  their  nation,  they  bury  the  corpse  with  much 
privacy. —  I  had  been  informed  that  some  priest  or  privileged 
person,  who  was  called  the  bone  picker,  was  always  sent 
for  to  the  nation  to  come  and  cleanse  the  bones  from  the 
flesh  even  in  the  most  loathsome  state  of  putrefaction,  that  the 
bones  might  be  carried  home  and  interred  in  the  general 
cemetery,  but  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  proving  the 
error  of  this  opinion.  As  to  the  women,  when  they  die, 
(which  is  very  rare,  except  from  old  age)  they  are  buried  at 
once  on  the  spot,  with  little  or  no  ceremony.  While  on 
the  subject  of  Indians,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  a 
trait  in  their  character,  of  courage  and  submission  to  their 
laws,  of  which  numberless  instances  have  happened,  par- 
ticularly amongst  the  Chocktaws  on  the  frontier  of  the  Mis- 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  287 

sissippi  Territory,  and  I  believe  common  to  all  the  Indian 
nations,  which  I  do  not  recollect  being  noticed  by  any 
writer  on  the  subject  of  their  manners  and  customs.  If  any 
one  maims  or  mutilates  another,  in  a  drunken  or  private 
fray,  he  must  forfeit  his  life.  A  few  days  (or  if  necessary) 
even  a  few  months,  are  allowed  the  offender  to  go  where  he 
pleases  and  settle  his  affairs,  at  the  expiration  of  which  it 
has  rarely  if  ever  happened,  that  he  does  not  surrender 
himself  at  the  place  appointed,  to  submit  himself  to  the 
rifle  of  the  injured  party,  or  one  of  his  nearest  relatives,  who 
never  fails  to  exact  the  full  penalty,  by  shooting  the  criminal. 
This  is  a  very  common  circumstance,  and  is  an  instance  of 
national  intrepidity  and  obedience  to  the  laws,  not  excelled 
in  the  purest  times  of  the  Roman  republick."' 

We  were  now  dreadfully  tormented  by  musquitoes  and 
gnats,  particularly  at  night,  when  moored  [262]  to  the  bank. 
By  day,  while  floating  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  they  were 
less  troublesome.  I  would  recommend  it  to  travellers  about 
to  descend  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  to  provide  themselves, 
previous  to  setting  off,  with  musquetoe  curtains,  otherwise 
they  never  can  reckon  on  one  night's  undisturbed  repose, 
while  on  their  journey,  during  the  spring,  summer  or  autumn. 

May  27th. —  We  proceeded  this  morning  early  with  the 
other  two  boats  in  company,  and  passing  Flour  island  (so 
named  from  the  number  of  flour  loaded  boats  which  formerly 
were  thrown  on  it  by  the  current  and  lost)  the  first  two  miles 
brought  us  abreast  of  the  first  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  on  the  left. 
It  is  a  cliff  of  pale  orange  coloured  clay,  rising  from  a  base 
of  rocks  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  surmounted  by  trees. — 
Half  a  mile  below,  another  similar  cliff  rises  suddenly  from 

"'  The  Choctaws  lived  in  what  is  now  Mississippi,  south  of  the  more  important 
Chickasaw  tribe.  Their  position  between  the  Creeks,  Cherokee,  Chickasaw, 
Spaniards,  and  EngUsh  led  to  much  intriguing  for  their  alliance.  The  custom 
which  Cuming  here  notes  is  verified  by  Mississippi  historians,  and  was  utilized 
by  the  early  justices  of  the  country      See  Claiborne,  Mississippi,  p.  505. —  Ed. 


288  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  water's  edge,  the  two  being  connected  by  a  semicircular 
range  of  smaller  ones  receding  from  the  bank,  having  a  small 
willow  bottom  in  front  of  them. 

The  river  retaining  its  southerly  course,  floated  us  in 
another  half  league,  past  the  beginning  of  island  No.  34  of 
Cramer's  Navigator,  which  is  four  miles  and  a  half  long, 
at  the  end  of  which,  another  large  island  (not  mentioned  in 
the  Navigator,  but  probably  included  in  No.  34,  from  which 
only  a  narrow  channel  separates  it)  begins.  Two  miles 
from  hence  a  handsome  little  creek  or  river,  about  forty 
yards  wide,  joins  the  Mississippi  from  the  N.  E.  and  nearly 
a  mile  lower  is  another  small  creek  from  the  eastward  with 
willows  at  its  mouth. 

The  second  Chickasaw  Bluff,  which  we  had  seen  in  a  long 
reach  down  the  river  ever  since  we  passed  Flour  island, 
commences  at  a  mile  below  the  last  creek,  on  the  left  hand. 
The  cliff,  of  a  yellowish  brown  colour,  has  fallen  in  from 
the  top  of  the  bluff,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high,  and  immediately  after  is  a  cleft  or  deep  fissure, 
through  [263]  which,  a  small  creek  or  run  enters  the  river. 
Half  a  mile  lower  down,  the  foundation  of  the  cliff,  formed 
apparently  of  potter's  blue  clay,  assumes  the  appearance 
of  the  buttresses  of  an  ancient  fortification,  projecting  to 
support  the  huge  impending  yellowish  red  cliff  above,  the 
base  of  the  whole  next  the  water  being  a  heap  of  ruins  in 
fantastick  and  various  forms,  perpetually  tumbling  from 
the  cliff,  which  is  beautifully  streaked  with  horizontal  lines, 
separating  the  different  strata  of  sand  and  clay  of  which  it  is 
composed. 

The  second  bluffs  are  about  two  miles  long,  and  form 
the  interior  of  a  great  bend  of  the  river,  which  curves  from 
S.  W.  by  S.  to  N.  W.  where  being  narrowed  to  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  wide  between  the  bluff  and  the  island,  (on  which 
the  passengers  had  bestowed  the  name  of  Cuming's  island) 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  289 

the  current  is  so  rapid  and  sets  so  strongly  into  the  bend  as 
to  require  the  greatest  exertion  of  the  oars  to  keep  the  boat 
in  the  channel.  The  river  then  turns  a  little  to  the  left, 
and  keeping  a  W.  by  N.  course  for  three  or  four  miles,  then 
resumes  its  general  direction,  meandering  to  the  southward. 

A  mile  and  a  half  below  the  bluffs,  island  No.  35  com- 
mences, doubling  over  Cuming's  island,  whose  lower  point 
is  not  in  sight,  being  concealed  by  No.  35.  The  view  of  the 
river  and  islands  from  the  top  of  the  bluff  must  be  very  fine. 

No.  35  is  three  miles  long.  From  the  lower  end  of  this 
island  we  saw  the  Third  Chickasaw  Bluffs  bearing  east 
about  six  or  seven  miles  distant,  at  the  end  of  a  vista  formed 
by  the  left  hand  channel  of  island  No.  36,  and  appearing  to 
be  a  little  higher  than  the  First  or  Second  Bluffs,  but  without 
any  marked  particularity  at  that  distance."* 

[264]    CHAPTER  XLV 

The  Devil's  Race-ground  —  The  Devil's  Elbow  —  Swans  — 
Observations  on  game  —  Remarkable  situation  —  Enor- 
mous tree  —  Join  other  boats  —  First  settlements  after 
the  wilderness  —  Chickasaw  Bluffs  —  Fort  Pike  —  Chick- 
asaw Indians  —  Fort  Pickering. 

Rowing  into  the  right  hand  channel  of  No.  36,  we  entered 
the  Devil's  Race-ground,  as  the  sound  is  called  between  the 
island  and  the  main,  from  the  number  of  snags  and  sawyers 
in  it,  and  the  current  setting  strongly  on  the  island,  which 
renders  it  necessary  to  use  the  oars  with  continued  exertion, 
by  dint  of  which  we  got  safely  through  this  dangerous  pas- 
sage of  three  miles,  leaving  several  newly  deserted  Indian 
camps  on  the  right.  At  the  end  of  the  Devil's  Race-ground 
the  river  turns  from  S.  W.  by  W.  to  N.  N.  W.  and  here 

'**  The  third  Chickasaw  Bluflf  is  the  place  where  De  Soto  is  said  to  have  crossed 
the  Mississippi  River.  Here  also  it  is  supposed  that  La  Salle  built  Fort  Prud'homme 
on  his  exploration  of  the  river  in  1682.  The  later  historic  significance  was  over- 
shadowed by  that  of  Fourth  Chickasaw  Bluff. —  Ed. 


290  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

opposite  a  small  outlet  of  twenty  yards  wide  on  the  left, 
we  met  a  barge  under  sail,  bound  up  the  river. 

After  three  miles  on  the  last  reach  the  river  turns  grad- 
ually with  a  bend,  to  its  general  southerly  direction,  the  bend 
being  encircled  by  a  low  bank  covered  with  tall  cypresses, 
which  keep  the  traveller  in  constant  dread  of  falling  on  his 
boat,  which  in  spite  of  his  utmost  exertion  is  forced  by  an 
irresistible  current  close  into  the  bend.  The  two  other 
boats  stopped  here  among  some  willows  on  account  of  a 
breaking  short  sea  raised  by  a  fresh  southerly  wind. 

Nine  miles  from  the  Devil's  Race-ground,  we  came  to 
the  Devil's  Elbow,  which  is  a  low  point  on  the  left,  round 
which  the  river  turns  suddenly,  from  S.  W.  to  S.  and  from 
that  to  E.  an  island  being  in  front  to  the  southward,  which 
intercepts  the  drifts,  and  fills  the  river  above  half  channel 
over  with  snags  and  sawyers.  There  was  a  very  large  flock 
of  swans  [265]  on  the  low  sandy  point  of  the  Elbow.  These 
were  the  first  swans  we  had  seen  on  the  river,  although  they 
are  said  to  abound  throughout  this  long  tract  which  is  desti- 
tute of  inhabitants.  We  had  been  long  accustomed  to  see 
numbers  of  bitterns  and  cranes,  mostly  white  as  snow,  and  a 
few  grey  ones,  and  some  duck  and  teal  sometimes  shewed 
themselves,  but  took  care  to  keep  out  of  gun  shot.  Travel- 
lers descending  the  river  have  but  little  chance  of  obtaining 
any  game,  as  its  having  become  so  great  a  thoroughfare, 
has  rendered  both  the  four  footed,  and  feathered  tribes 
fit  for  the  table  so  wild,  that  it  is  rare  that  any  of  them, 
even  when  seen  can  be  shot,  and  if  one  lands  for  the  purpose 
of  hunting,  the  boat  must  stop,  or  else  he  is  in  danger  of 
being  left  behind,  as  the  current  runs  never  or  in  no  place 
slower  than  three  miles  an  hour,  and  mostly  four  or  five. 

The  easterly  bend  is  six  miles  long,  and  about  a  mile 
wide,  gradually  inclining  to  the  south,  and  on  the  right 
are  eight  creeks  or  outlets  of  the  river,  five  of  them  divided 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  29 1 

from  each  other  by  narrow  slips  of  land  about  fifty  paces 
wide  each,  and  the  other  three  by  slips  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  paces.  Their  general  direction  from  the  river  is  S. 
S.  W.  and  a  point  rounds  the  whole  way  from  E.  to  S.  E. — 
This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  situations  on  the  river. 

Two  miles  lower  we  stopped  at  island  No.  40,  for  the 
night,  and  moored  by  some  willows  at  a  sand  beach,  near 
a  drift  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  was  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  long,  and  from  its  thickness  where  broken  towards 
the  top,  it  must  have  been  at  least  fifty  feet  more  to  the 
extremity  of  the  branches,  making  in  the  whole  the  aston- 
ishing length  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  Capt. 
Wells  with  two  boats  from  Steubenville,  passed  and  stopped 
a  little  below  us. 

The  Musquitoes  as  usual  plagued  us  all  night,  and  has- 
tened our  departure  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  [266] 
Wells's  boats  were  in  company,  and  after  floating  six  miles, 
we  overtook  two  other  boats  from  Steubenville  under  the 
direction  of  captain  Bell. —  The  four  boats  had  twelve 
hundred  barrels  of  flour  for  the  New  Orleans  market. 

This  accession  to  our  company  served  to  enliven  a  little 
the  remainder  of  this  dreary  and  solitary  part  of  the  river, 
the  sameness  of  which  had  began  to  be  irksome. 

In  a  league  more  Bell's  boats  took  the  right  hand  channel 
round  an  archipelago  of  islands,  while  we  kept  to  the  left 
through  Mansfield's  channel,  which  is  very  narrow  and 
meanders  among  several  small  islands  and  willow  bars. 

This  archipelago  which  is  designated  by  No.  41  in  the 
Navigator,  is  three  miles  long.  At  the  end  of  it  we  rejoined 
Bell's  boats,  and  passed  a  settlement  pleasantly  situated  on 
the  right,  which  was  the  first  habitation  since  Little  Prairie 
(one  hundred  and  thirty- two  miles.)  Here  we  observed  a 
fine  stock  of  horses,  cows,  and  oxen,  and  half  a  mile  farther 
we  landed  in  the  skiff  at  Mr.  Foy's  handsome  settlement 


292  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

and  good  frame  house.  Foy  was  the  first  settler  fourteen 
years  ago  on  the  Fourth  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  which  are  oppo- 
site his  present  residence,  to  which  he  removed  eleven  years 
ago;  since  when  five  families  more  have  settled  near  him, 
and  about  half  a  dozen  on  the  Chickasaw  side,  just  below 
Wolf  river.  Soon  after  Foy's  first  settlement,  and  very  near 
it,  the  Americans  erected  a  small  stoccado  fort,  named  Fort 
Pike,  from  the  major  commandant.  After  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  by  the  United  States  from  the  Spaniards,  Fort 
Pickering  was  erected  two  miles  lower  down  at  the  end  of 
the  bluffs,  and  Fort  Pike  was  abandoned.  There  are  two 
stores  on  each  side  the  river,  one  of  which  is  kept  by  Mr. 
Foy,  who  owns  a  small  barge  which  he  sends  occasionally 
for  goods  to  New  Orleans,  from  whence  she  returns  [267] 
generally  in  forty  days,  and  did  so  once  in  thirty.  Mrs.  Foy 
was  very  friendly,  amongst  other  civilities,  sparing  us  some 
butter,  for  which  she  would  accept  no  payment.  This  was 
the  first  instance  of  disinterestedness  we  had  experienced  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers.*" 

Wolf  river  is  the  boundary  between  the  state  of  Tennessee 
and  the  Mississippi  territory.  It  is  not  more  than  about 
forty  yards  wide.  The  bank  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi, 
the  whole  way  from  Tennessee  river  is  still  owned  by  the 


^*''  The  first  fort  known  to  have  been  erected  on  the  site  of  Memphis  (Fovirth 
Chickasaw  Bluff)  W£is  that  built  by  Bienville,  governor  of  Louisiana,  during  his 
campaigns  against  the  Chickasaws  (1735-40)  and  called  by  him  Fort  Assimiption. 
After  the  expedition  of  1740,  however,  this  was  abandoned,  the  place  not  being 
fortified  until  the  Spanish  commandant  Gayoso,  in  defiance  of  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  crossed  (1794)  to  the  Chickasaw  territory  and  built  Fort  San  Fer- 
nando. Two  years  later,  after  Pinckney's  treaty  was  signed,  the  Spaniards  re- 
luctantly surrendered  this  outpost,  whereupon  the  American  Fort  Pike  was  built 
(1796). 

^Judge  Benjamin  Foy,  of  the  Arkansas  town  of  Fo)r's  Point,  was  a  pioneer  of 
German  descent,  whose  settlement  is  said  to  have  been  the  most  healthful,  moral, 
and  intelligent  community  between  the  Ohio  and  Natchez  —  due  to  the  influence 
of  its  first  settler,  and  his  magisterial  powers.  Volney,  the^French  traveller,  spent  ^ 
the  winter  of  1805  with  Foy  in  his  Arkansas  home. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  293 

Chickasaw  nation,  who  have  not  yet  sold  the  territorial 
right/"" 

On  the  point  immediately  below  Mr.  Foy's  (whose  negro 
quarter  gives  his  pleasantly  situated  settlement  the  appear- 
ance of  a  village  or  hamlet)  was  formerly  a  Spanish  fort 
no  vestige  of  which  now  remains."^ 

Rowing  across  the  river  and  falling  down  with  the  current, 
we  landed  under  Fort  Pickering,  having  passed  the  Fourth 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,  which  are  two  miles  long,  and  sixty  feet 
perpendicular  height.  They  are  cleared  at  the  top  to  some 
little  distance  back,  and  the  houses  of  the  settlers  are  very 
pleasantly  situated  near  the  edge  of  the  cliff. 

An  Indian  was  at  the  landing  observing  us.  He  was 
painted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  us  in  doubt  as  to  his 
sex  until  we  noticed  a  bow  and  arrow  in  his  hand.  His 
natural  colour  was  entirely  concealed  under  the  bright  Ver- 
million, the  white,  and  the  blue  grey,  with  which  he  was 
covered,  not  frightfully,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  mark 
more  strongly,  a  fine  set  of  features  on  a  fine  countenance. 
He  was  drest  very  fantastically  in  an  old  fashioned,  large 
figured,  high  coloured  calico  shirt  —  deer  skin  leggins  and 
mockesons,  ornamented  with  beads,  and  a  plume  of  beau- 
tiful heron's  feathers  nodding  over  his  forehead  from  the 
back  of  his  head. 

We  ascended  to  Fort  Pickering"^  by  a  stair  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  square  logs,  similar  to  that  at  [268]  Jefferson- 
ville.    There  was  a  trace  of  fresh  blood  the  whole  way  up 

"°  The  Chickasaws  maintained  their  right  to  the  territory  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Tennessee  until  1818,  when  commissioners  for  the  Federal  Government 
bought  the  tract  for  $300,000.  The  town  of  Memphis  was  laid  out  in  the  same 
year. —  Ed. 

*"  This  was  the  fort  called  Esperanza,  where  the  village  of  Hopefield,  Arkansas, 
now  stands. —  Ed. 

^•^  Fort  Pickering  (at  first  called  Fort  Adams)  was  erected  by  Captain  Guion 
on  the  orders  of  Wilkinson.  Meriwether  Lewis  was  for  a  brief  time  (1797)  in 
command  of  this  post. —  Ed. 


294  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  stair,  and  on  arriving  at  the  top,  we  saw  seated  or  lazily 
reclining  on  a  green  in  front  of  the  entrance  of  the  stoccado, 
about  fifty  Chickasaw  warriours,  drest  each  according  to 
his  notion  of  finery,  and  most  of  them  painted  in  a  grotesque 
but  not  a  terrifick  manner.  Many  of  them  had  long  feathers 
in  the  back  part  of  their  hair,  and  several  wore  breast  plates 
formed^of  tin  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  and  had  large  tin 
rings  in  their  ears. 

On  seeing  so  many  Indians  and  the  trace  of  blood  before 
mentioned,  an  idea  started  in  my  imagination  that  they  had 
massacred  the  garrison,  but  on  advancing  a  little  farther,  I  was 
agreeably  undeceived  by  seeing  a  good  looking  young  white 
centinel  in  the  American  uniform,  with  his  musquet  and  fixed 
bayonet,  parading  before  the  gate  of  the  fort.  He  stopped 
us  until  permission  was  obtained  from  the  commanding 
officer  for  our  entrance,  and  in  the  interim  he  informed  me 
that  he  was  a  Frenchman,  a  native  of  Paris,  that  he  had 
been  a  marine  under  Jerome  Bonaparte,  when  the  latter 
commanded  a  frigate,  and  that  he  had  deserted  from  him  on 
his  arrival  in  the  Chesapeak.  We  were  ushered  by  a  soldier 
to  the  officers'  quarters  where  we  were  received  by  lieut. 
Taylor  the  commandant,  with  civility  not  unmixed  with 
a  small  degree  of  the  pompous  stiffness  of  office."'  He 
however  answered  politely  enough  a  few  interrogatories  we 
made  respecting  the  Indians.  He  said  they  were  friendly, 
and  made  frequent  visits  to  the  garrison,  but  except  a  few 
of  the  chiefs  on  business,  none  of  them  were  ever  admitted 
within  the  stoccado,  and  that  this  was  a  jubilee  or  gala  day, 
on  account  of  their  having  just  received  presents  from  the 
United  States'  government.  They  have  a  large  settlement 
about  five  miles  directly  inland  from  the  river,  but  the  most 


^"  This  was  Lieutenant  S^chary  Taylor,  later  the  twelfth  president  of  the  United 
States.  His  military  commission  dated  from  May  8,  1808,  so  that  his  manner  was 
doubtless  due  to  his  youth  and  the  unaccustomed  novelty  of  his  position. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  295 

populous  part  of  the  Chickasaw  nation  is  one  hundred  miles 
distant  to  the  south  eastward. 

[269]  When  we  were  returning  to  the  boat,  one  of  the 
Indians  ofifered  to  sell  us  for  a  mere  trifle,  a  pair  of  very 
handsome  beaded  mockesons,  which  we  were  obliged  to  de- 
cline, from  having  neglected  to  bring  any  money  with  us. 

Fort  Pickering  is  a  small  stoccado,  commanding  from  its 
elevated  situation  not  only  the  river,  but  also  the  surround- 
ing country,  which  however  is  not  yet  sufficiently  cleared  of 
wood  to  make  it  tenable  against  an  active  enemy.  There 
are  some  small  cannon  mounted,  and  several  pyramids  of 
shot  evince  its  being  well  supplied  with  that  article. 

CHAPTER  XLVI 

A  pleasant  harbour  —  Barges  from  Fort  Adams  —  River  St. 
Francois  —  Big  Prairie  settlements  —  Remarkable  lake 
and  meadow  —  Settlements  of  Arkansas  and  White  river 
—  The  latter  broke  up  by  general  Wilkinson  —  Ville 
Aussipot. 

A  MILE  below  Fort  Pickering  we  passed  a  pleasantly 
situated  settlement  on  a  detached  bluff  on  the  left,  and  from 
thence  eight  miles  lower  we  had  an  archipelago  of  islands 
on  the  right.  We  found  this  passage  very  good,  though  the 
Navigator  advises  keeping  to  the  right  of  the  first  and  largest 
island,  named  No.  46.  Having  passed  Council  island,  four 
miles  long,  and  several  willow  islands  and  sand  bars,  in  the 
twenty-seven  miles  which  we  floated  during  the  remainder 
of  the  day,  we  then  at  sunset  stopped  and  moored  in  a  little 
eddy  under  a  point  on  the  left,  where  several  stakes  drove 
into  the  strand  indicate  a  well  frequented  boat  harbour. 
We  found  adjoining  the  landing,  a  beautiful  little  prairie, 
and  our  being  comparatively  less  troubled  than  usual  with 
gnats  [270]  and  musquitoes,  made  us  congratulate  ourselves 
on  the  situation  we  had  chosen  for  the  night.    Next  mom- 


296  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

ing,  May  30th,  we  continued  our  voyage  with  charming 
weather. 

We  passed  several  islands,  and  some  very  intricate  chan- 
nels, where  we  were  obliged  occasionally  to  work  our  oar* 
with  the  utmost  exertion,  to  avoid  snags,  sawyers,  and  im- 
proper sucks. 

We  this  day  spoke  a  large  barge  with  some  military 
officers  on  board  from  Fort  Adams,  bound  to  Marietta,  with 
another  following  her,  and  having  floated  thirty-two  miles, 
we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Francois  on  the  right, 
but  we  could  not  see  it  on  account  of  the  overlapping 
of  two  willow  points,  which  veil  it  from  passengers  on  the 
Mississippi. 

The  river  St.  Francois  rises  near  St.  Louis  in  Upper 
Louisiana,  and  runs  parallel  to  the  Mississippi,  between 
three  and  four  hundred  miles,  between  its  source  and  its 
embouchure  into  that  river. 

The  tongue  of  land  between  the  two  rivers,  is  only  from 
six  to  twenty  miles  wide  in  that  whole  distance,  is  all  flat, 
and  great  part  of  it  liable  to  inundation  in  great  floods. 
There  is  a  chain  of  hiUs  along  the  whole  western  bank  of  the 
St.  Francois,  and  in  this  chain,  are  the  lead  mines  of  St. 
Genevieve,  immediately  behind  that  settlement,  which 
supply  all  the  states  and  territories  washed  by  the  Ohio 
and  the  Mississippi,  and  all  their  tributary  streams,  with 
that  useful  metal.  The  St.  Francois  rarely  exceeds  one 
hundred  yards  in  breadth,  its  current  is  gentle,  and  its 
navigation  unimpeded. 

We  landed  at  a  fine  well  opened  farm  on  the  right,  a  mile 
below  the  mouth  of  St.  Francois,  where  a  handsome  two 
story  cabin  with  a  piazza,  seemed  to  promise  plenty  and 
comfort.  This  is  the  first  settlement  below  the  Chickasaw 
Bluffs,  a  computed  distance  of  sixty-five  mfles.  It  is  owned 
by  one  Philips  from  North  Carolina,  who  has  lived  here  six 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  297 

years."*  Notwithstanding  [271]  favourable  appearances, 
we  could  obtain  no  kind  of  refreshments  here,  not  even  milk, 
they  having  made  cheese  in  the  morning,  so  we  rowed  down 
three  miles  and  a  half,  to  Wm.  Basset's  delightful  situation 
on  the  Big  Prairie,  where  was  a  large  stock  of  cattle,  yet 
we  were  still  disappointed  in  milk,  so  we  kept  on  four  miles 
and  a  half  to  Anthony's,  where  we  obtained  milk,  sallad, 
and  eggs,  and  spent  a  pleasant  night  in  a  fine  harbour,  very 
little  troubled  by  musquitoes. 

We  had  passed  Well's  and  Bell's  boats  at  moorings  at 
the  Big  Prairie,  and  about  an  hour  after  we  stopped  at 
Anthony's,  the  South  Carolina  and  Pittsburgh  boats  arrived 
and  made  fast  a  little  above  us. 

The  Big  Prairie  is  a  natural  savanna  of  about  sixty  acres 
open  to  the  river  on  the  right  bank.  It  is  covered  with  a 
fine,  rich,  short  herbage,  very  proper  for  sheep.  Immedi- 
ately behind  it  at  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  river,  is  a 
small  lake  eight  or  nine  miles  in  circumference,  formed  in 
the  spring  and  summer  by  the  Mississippi,  which  in  that 
season  rising,  flows  up  a  small  canal  or  (in  the  language  of 
the  country)  bayau,  and  spreads  itself  over  a  low  prairie. 
As  the  river  falls,  the  lake  discharges  its  water  again  by 
the  bayau,  and  becomes  a  luxuriant  meadow,  covered  with 
a  tall  but  nutritive  and  tender  grass.  While  a  lake,  it 
abounds  in  fish  of  every  species  natural  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  when  a  meadow,  it  is  capable  of  feeding  innumerable 
herds  of  cattle.  It  is  then  watered  by  a  rivulet  which 
descends  from  some  low  hills  about  three  miles  to  the 
westward  of  the  river  bank.  From  its  regular  annual  inun- 
dation, this  appears  to  be  a  fine  situation  for  rice  grounds, 
if  the  water  goes  off  soon  enough  to  allow  the  rice  to  ripen. 


^'*  Sylvanus  Phillips  later  platted  and  became  chief  owner  of  Helena,  a  town 
named  for  his  daughter,  about  ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of  St.  Frands  River. 
Phillips  Coimty,  Arkansas,  takes  its  name  from  this  pioneer. —  Ed. 


298  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

There  are  two  settlements  joining  to  Anthony's  fronting 
the  river,  and  five  or  six  others  at  some  little  distance  behind, 
there  being  in  the  whole  about  a  dozen  families  between 
Philips's  and  a  new  settlement,  [272]  three  miles  below 
Anthony's,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  all  from  Kentucky,  except  Basset,  who  is  from 
Natchez,  and  one  family  from  Georgia.  The  soil  here  is 
good  and  the  situation  pleasant  and  healthy.  The  settlers 
have  abundance  of  fine  looking  cattle,  but  they  raise  neither 
grain  nor  cotton,  except  for  their  own  consumption.  They 
would  go  largely  into  the  latter,  which  succeeds  here  equal 
to  any  other  part  of  the  United  States,  but  they  want  machin- 
ery to  clean  it,  and  none  of  them  are  sufficiently  wealthy 
to  procure  and  erect  a  cotton  gin. 

From  hence  to  Arkansas  is  seventy  miles,  the  road  cross- 
ing White  river  at  thirty-five."^  At  the  former  (Arkansas) 
is  a  good  settlement  of  French,  Americans,  and  Spaniards, 
who  before  the  cession  to  the  United  States,  kept  there  a 
small  garrison,  and  on  the  banks  of  White  river,  some 
wealthy  settlers  had  fixed  themselves,  one  of  whom  had 
thirty  negroes,  but  they  were  all  forced  off  by  general  Wil- 
kinson a  few  years  ago,  as  they  had  no  titles  from  the  United 


***  Arkansas  Post  (or  Poste  aux  Arkansas)  was  accounted  the  oldest  white 
settlement  in  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley.  Tonty,  on  his  voyage  of  relief  in  search 
of  La  Salle  (1686),  ascended  the  Arkansas  River  to  a  village  of  a  tribe  by  the  same 
name,  where  he  left  a  detachment  of  six  men  headed  by  Couture.  Thither,  the 
following  year,  came  the  survivors  of  La  Salle's  ill-fated  Texas  colony,  and  related 
the  assassination  of  their  leader.  The  post  was  maintained  as  a  trading  centre 
and  Jesuit  mission  throughout  the  French  occupation,  and  survived  an  unexpected 
attack  by  the  Chickasaws  in  1748.  The  Jesuits  abandoned  it  as  an  unfruitful 
field  in  1763.  During  the  Spanish  occupation,  the  importance  of  this  post  as  a 
trading  station  increased.  Pierre  Laclfede,  founder  of  St.  Louis,  had  a  branch 
warehouse  at  Arkansas  Post,  and  died  here  in  1778.  Upon  the  American  occupa- 
tion, civil  government  was  established  (1804),  and  it  was  the  capital  for  the  territory 
until  1820,  when  superseded  by  Little  Rock.  Arkansas  Post  was  captured  by  the 
Union  forces  from  the  Confederates,  in  1863.  It  is  now  a  small  town  about  seventy- 
five  miles  southeast  of  Little  Rock. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  299 

States.  This  was  bad  policy,  as  the  White  river  lands  were 
in  such  repute,  that  a  great  settlement  would  have  been 
formed  there  ere  now. 

May  31st,  we  proceeded  in  company  with  Bell  and  Wells, 
and  to  the  latter*s  boats  lashed  ours,  that  we  might  drift 
the  faster,  from  his  loaded  boats  drawing  more  water,  and 
being  of  course  more  commanded  by  the  current  than  our 
light  one. 

Seventeen  miles  below  Anthony's,  the  river  banks  begin 
to  be  very  low,  generally  overflowed;  the  islands  also  are 
mostly  willow  islands,  of  which  we  passed  several  in  forty 
miles  farther,  which  distance  we  floated  down  until  sunset, 
when  we  moored  at  a  low  point  of  willows,  and  were  de- 
voured by  musquitoes  all  night. 

June  ist,  after  floating  fourteen  miles,  and  passing  several 
islands  and  sand  bars,  we  passed  the  mouth  [273]  of  White 
river  on  the  right,  which  appears  more  inconsiderable  than 
it  actually  is,  by  its  mouth  being  almost  concealed  by  wil- 
lows. Seven  miles  lower  down  we  met  a  small  barge  with 
seven  hands  rowing  up ;  she  had  come  down  Arkansas  river, 
from  the  settlement  of  Arkansas,  and  was  about  returning  by 
the  channel  of  White  river,  which  communicates  with  the 
Arkansas  by  a  natural  canal,  so  that  we  were  puzzled  to 
understand  the  steersman,  who  said  he  was  from  Arkansas 
and  bound  to  Arkansas,  until  he  explained  it.  Eleven  miles 
from  hence,  we  had  Arkansas  river,  two  hundred  yards 
wide,  on  the  right,  and  Ozark  island  two  miles  and  a  half 
in  front  below,  the  Mississippi  being  about  a  mile  wide. 

The  settlement  of  Arkansas  or  Ozark  is  about  fifty  miles 
above  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  Mississippi.  It 
consists  chiefly  of  hunters  and  Indian  traders,  of  course  is  a 
poor  place,  as  settlers  of  this  description,  never  look  for  any 
thing  beyond  the  mere  necessaries  of  life,  except  whiskey. 
Had  the  White  river  settlement  been  fostered,  instead  of 


300  Fjarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

being  broken  up,  Arkansas  would  have  followed  its  exam- 
ple in  the  cultivation  of  the  lands,  and  would  have  become 
very  soon  of  considerable  importance. 

Having  passed  Ozark  island  (No.  75)  two  miles  long, 
on  the  right,  we  came  to  a  mooring  eight  miles  below,  where 
we  had  our  usual  torment  of  musquitoes  all  night. 

June  2nd,  we  proceeded  thirty-five  miles,  tired  with  the 
perpetual  sameness  of  low  banks,  willow  islands  and  sand 
bars,  we  then  came  to  a  settlement,  the  first  below  Big 
Prairie,  from  whence  it  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles, 
and  just  fifteen  leagues  below  Arkansas  river. 

This  settlement  was  commenced  two  months  ago  by  a 
Mons.  Malbrock,  from  Arkansas,  who  has  a  large  family 
and  several  negroes.  He  has  named  his  place  Ville  Aussipot, 
and  he  is  clearing  away  [274]  with  spirit,  having  already 
opened  twelve  or  fourteen  acres.  His  mode  of  providing 
meal  for  his  people,  was  by  pounding  com  in  a  wooden 
mortar,  with  a  wooden  pestle,  fixed  to  a  spring  sweep. 

The  neighbouring  lands  are  all  parcelled  out  and  granted 
to  settlers,  who  are  to  commence  directly.  There  is  a  fine 
prairie  a  league  inland.  The  river  bank  is  sufficiently  high 
to  be  secure  from  inundation,  being  now  six  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  the  soil  is  very  fine. 

We  stopped  for  the  night  on  the  right  bank,  seven  miles 
below  Mr.  Walbrock's. 

CHAPTER  XLVII 

Grand  lake  —  Seary's  island  —  Extraordinary  effect  of  the 
power  of  the  current  —  Musquitoe  island  —  Crow's  nest 
island  —  Humorous  anecdote  of  a  Carolinean  —  A  battle 
royal  —  New  settlements  —  Fine  situations  —  Cuming's 
island. 

June  3d,  after  proceeding  three  miles,  the  river  was  nar- 
rowed by  a  point  of  willows  on  the  right  to  a  quarter  of  a 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  301 

mile  wide,  and  five  miles  after,  it  widens  gradually  to  half  a 
mile. 

In  the  next  nineteen  miles  we  passed  several  islands, 
giving  a  relief  to  the  eye,  by  their  variety  and  some  fine 
views. 

We  then  passed  on  the  right,  the  Grand  lake,  now  grown 
up  with  willows,  where  the  river  formerly  entered,  and  en- 
circled a  cotton  tree  island,  which  still  rears  itself  predomi- 
nant over  the  surrounding  willow  marsh.  Two  miles  below, 
the  old  willow  channel  returns  again,  diagonally,  to  the 
present  river  bank,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which,  on  the  left, 
the  old  channel  seems  to  have  been  continued,  there  sur- 
rounding [275]  another  clump  of  cotton  trees,  called  Seary's 
island,  (No.  90)  which  is  about  a  mile  long,  and  which 
confines  the  present  channel  within  a  limit  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  which  contraction  shoots  the  river  so  strongly  against 
the  low  willow  bend  of  the  old  channel  below,  that  not  being 
able  to  bear  the  impetus  of  the  torrent  in  the  present  flooded 
state  of  the  river,  the  tall  willows  are  undermined,  and  falling 
every  moment,  dash  up  the  white  foam  in  their  fall,  and 
sometimes  spring  up  again,  as  the  root  reaches  the  bottom 
of  the  river,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  impress  the  beholder 
with  astonishment. 

Fourteen  miles  more  brought  us  to  island  No.  92,  where 
we  moored  for  the  night.  We  found  abundance  of  black- 
berries on  this  island,  but  in  gathering  them,  we  were  at- 
tacked by  such  myriads  of  musquitoes,  generated  by  a  pond 
in  the  middle,  that  we  named  it  Musquitoe  island. 

June  4th,  in  eleven  miles  we  arrived  at  Crow's  nest  island, 
where  invited  by  the  beauty  of  its  appearance,  some  of  us 
landed  in  the  skiff.  It  is  a  little  narrow  island,  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  paces  long  by  forty  broad.  It  is  sufficiently 
raised  above  inundation,  and  is  very  dry  and  pleasant,  with 
innumerable  blackbirds,  which  have  their  nests  amongst 


302  Early  Western  Travels         '  [Vol.  4 

the  thirty  tall  cotton  wood  trees  it  contains.  It  is  covered 
with  brush,  through  which  is  an  old  path  from  one  end  to 
the  other.  A  quantity  of  drift  wood  lies  on  its  upper  end, 
which  projecting,  forms  a  fine  boat  harbour  just  below  it, 
quite  out  of  the  current.  There  are  but  few  musquitoes  on 
the  dry  part,  but  a  low,  drowned  point,  covered  with  small 
poplars,  and  extending  a  hundred  yards  at  the  lower  end 
swarms  with  them,  and  many  of  the  largest  size,  called 
gannipers.  These  venemous  and  troublesome  insects  re- 
mind me  of  a  humorous  story  I  have  heard,  which  I  take  the 
liberty  of  introducing  here. 

Some  gentlemen  in  South  Carolina  had  dined  together, 
and  while  the  wine  circulated  freely  after  dinner  the  con- 
versation turned  on  the  quantity  of  musquitoes  generated  in 
the  rice  swamps  of  that  country.  One  of  the  gentlemen 
said  that  those  insects  never  troubled  him,  and  that  he 
believed  people  in  general  complained  more  of  them  than 
they  had  occasion  to  do  —  that  for  his  part  he  would  not 
notice  them,  were  he  naked  in  a  rice  swamp.  Another  of 
the  company  (according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  where 
all  arguments  terminate  in  a  wager)  ofiEered  him  a  con- 
siderable bet  that  he  would  not  lie  quietly  on  his  face,  naked, 
in  the  swamp,  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  other  took  him 
up,  and  all  the  party  immediately  adjourned  to  the  place 
fixed  on.  The  gentleman  stripped,  lay  down,  and  bore  with 
the  most  resolute  fortitude  the  attack  of  the  hostile  foe. 
The  time  had  almost  expired,  and  his  antagonist  fearing  he 
must  lose  his  wager,  seized  a  fire  brand  from  one  of  the 
negro  fires  that  happened  to  be  near,  and  approaching  slyly 
applied  it  to  a  fleshy  part  of  his  prostrate  adversary,  who, 
not  able  to  bear  the  increased  pain,  clapped  his  hand  on  the 

part,  jumped  up,  and  cried  out  "A  ganniperby  G ." 

He  then  acknowledged  he  had  lost  his  wager,  by  that 
*' damned  ganniper,"  and  the  party  returned  to  the  house 


1 807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  303 

to  renew  their  libations  to  Bacchus,  and  to  laugh  over  the 
comical  termination  of  the  bet. 

Crow's  nest  island  is  a  beautiful  little  spot,  and  is  about 
a  mile  from  the  right  bank,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  left,  and 
only  a  mile  below  the  commencement  of  a  noble  reach  of  the 
river,  which  is  perfectly  straight  for  nine  miles  (therefore 
called  the  Nine  mile  reach)  in  a  S.  S.  W.  direction,  and  up- 
wards of  a  mile  wide. 

Eighteen  miles  from  the  lower  end  of  the  Nine  mile 
reach,  we  came  to  three  new  settlements  on  the  left,  within 
a  mile  of  each  other.  The  banks  here  [277]  are  not  more 
than  three  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river.  Eleven 
miles  farther,  in  an  intricate  pass  between  two  islands  cap- 
tain Wells's  inside  boat  was  driven  by  the  current  against  a 
quantity  of  drift  wood,  the  shock  of  which  parted  her  from 
his  other  boat  and  mine.  She  stuck  fast,  and  we  continued 
down  the  sound  between  the  islands  about  two  miles,  when 
seeing  a  convenient  place  for  stopping,  we  rowed  in,  and 
made  fast  in  a  fine  eddy,  among  willows  at  the  lower  point 
of  the  right  hand  island,  where  we  were  soon  after  joined  by 
Wells  with  his  boat  which  he  had  got  off  again  without 
damage. 

Whiskey  having  been  dealt  liberally  to  the  boatmen  to 
induce  them  to  exert  themselves  while  the  boat  was  in  dan- 
ger, it  began  to  operate  by  the  time  they  rejoined  us,  the 
consequence  of  which  was  a  battle  royal,  in  which  some  of 
the  combatants  attempted  to  gouge  each  other,  but  my  boat's 
company  interfering,  separated  them,  and  quelled  the  dis- 
turbance, after  which  I  delivered  them  a  long  lecture  on 
that  shameful,  unmanly,  and  inhuman  practice,  condemn- 
ing it  in  such  strong  terms,  as  to  almost  provoke  an  attack 
against  myself,  but  I  at  last  succeeded,  or  thought  I  suc- 
ceeded, in  making  them  ashamed  of  themselves. 

The  two  islands  between  which  we  had  just  floated,  are 


304  'Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

mentioned  improperly  in  the  Navigator  as  one  island,  which 
is  numbered  100.  The  channel  between  is  very  narrow,  the 
ship  channel  in  this  stage  of  the  water  being  evidently  to 
the  right  of  both,  and  a  small  willow  island  besides  to  the 
right  of  them. —  The  second  of  the  islands  is  properly  No. 
ioo."« 

The  musquitoes  were  this  night,  as  usual,  insupportable, 
spite  of  smoke  which  we  used  almost  to  suffocation. 

[278]  June  5th,  having  lashed  the  boats  together  again, 
we  cast  them  loose  from  their  moorings  at  an  early  hour, 
and  trusted  them  to  the  current,  but  after  floating  six  miles 
we  had  to  use  our  oars  with  the  utmost  exertion,  to  avoid  some 
broken  and  hanging  trees,  with  a  whirling  eddy  just  below 
them,  occasioned  by  a  point  on  the  left  projecting  far  into 
a  bend  on  the  right,  and  being  rendered  rapid  by  the  channel 
above  being  narrowed  by  island  loi.  Inside  of  these  broken 
trees,  the  canes  were  burnt,  as  if  with  intention  to  make  a 
settlement.  The  canes  or  reeds,  which  grow  to  an  immense 
size  on  the  river  banks,  had  now  began  to  take  the  place  of 
brush  or  copse  wood,  but  they  do  not  prevent  the  growth 
of  the  forest  trees,  which  appear  to  gain  in  size  the  lower 
we  descend. 

A  mile  below  the  intricate  pass,  we  came  to  a  settlement 
commenced  this  spring  by  a  Mr.  Campbell  from  Bayau 
Pierre,  who  has  made  a  good  opening.  The  family  which 
had  commenced  near  the  whirlpool  above,  were  residing  with 
him.  The  river  in  general  at  its  greatest  height  never  rises 
more  than  a  foot  higher  than  it  was  now.  It  is  ten  miles 
from  hence  to  Yazoos  river,  and  twenty  to  the  Walnut  hills, 
eighteen  below  the  last  three  new  settlements,  and  one 
hundred  below  Ville  Aussipot. 

A  mile  and  a  half  lower,  is  a  beautiful  situation  on  the 
right,  partly  cleared,  with  a  cabin  on  it,  but  no  inhabitants. 

*"  Noted  in  the  seventh  edition  of  the  Navigator. —  Cilamer. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  305 

The  river  trenches  from  hence  E.  S.  E.  and  a  mile  lower  is 
another  new  settlement  on  the  right,  from  whence  is  a  fine 
reach  of  the  river  downwards  E.  J  S.  In  the  next  half 
league,  are  three  more  new  settlements  also  on  the  right,  all 
commenced  this  spring. 

A  mile  lower  is  a  charming  situation  for  a  settlement,  at 
present  unoccupied.  It  is  opposite  island  No.  103,  and 
continues  three  miles  to  a  point  where  the  river  resumes 
its  S.  S.  W.  direction,  at  the  end  [279]  of  that  island,  which 
is  itself  a  delightful  and  most  eligible  situation  for  an  indus- 
trious and  tasty  farmer. 

There  are  some  settlements  opposite  the  end  of  the  island 
on  the  right  bank,  and  on  the  left,  opposite,  is  discernible 
the  bed  of  an  old  schute  of  the  Mississippi,  or  rather  a 
mouth  of  the  Yazoos,  as  the  low  willows  which  mark  this 
old  bed  join  that  river  two  miles  above  where  it  enters  the 
Mississippi.  From  my  admiration  of  No.  103,  my  fellow 
voyagers  named  it  Cuming's  island,  and  indeed  I  should 
have  been  tempted  to  have  settled  on  it,  had  every  thing 
been  perfectly  convenient  for  that  purpose. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII 

The  Walnut  hills  and  Fort  M'Henry  —  Palmyra  —  Point 
Pleasant  —  Big  Black  —  Trent's  point  —  The  Grand 
Gulph  —  Bayau  Pierre. 

A  MILE  below  Cuming's  island,  is  a  settlement  on  the  right, 
and  four  others  immediately  below  it,  all  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  each  other,  and  all  apparently  commenced  last 
year.  Three  miles  below  Cuming's  island,  we  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Yazoos  on  the  left.  It  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards  wide,  and  affords  a  fine  view  up  it  four 
or  five  miles.  Opposite,  on  the  right,  is  the  fine  settlement 
of  George  Collins,  with  the  Walnut  hills  in  sight  over  the 
trees  at  the  end  of  the  reach.    Three  quarters  of  a  mile 


306  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

below  Collins's  there  is  another  small  settlement,  from  whence 
the  Mississippi  takes  a  curve  to  the  N.  E.  and  then  again 
turns  to  the  left,  where  at  the  end  of  a  short  easterly  reach, 
we  saw  over  the  trees,  a  cliff  of  the  Walnut  hills  three  miles 
[280]  lower  down,  and  soon  after,  two  large,  well  cleared 
farms,  cultivated  from  the  bank  to  the  top  of  the  hills,  where 
are  seen  the  earthen  ramparts  of  Fort  M' Henry,  now  aban- 
doned. These  hills  are  about  as  high  as  the  lower  Chicka- 
saw Bluffs,  but  differ  from  them  by  rising  gradually  with  a 
gentle  slope,  having  a  most  delightful  effect  on  the  eye  after 
the  level  banks  with  which  it  has  been  fatigued,  since  passing 
the  Bluffs."' 

Five  miles  below  the  hills,  we  lost  sight  of  them,  having 
passed  several  new  settlements  on  the  right,  but  none  on  the 
left  below  the  hills  for  seven  miles,  where  we  observed  a 
good  large  framed  house  with  a  piazza.  Two  miles  farther 
we  landed  at  a  farm  with  a  good  negro  quarter,  belonging 
to  a  Mr.  Hicks  from  Tennessee,  where  we  got  some  milk, 
and  returning  to  our  boat,  we  boarded  in  the  way  the  barge 
Adventurer,  twenty-nine  days  from  New  Orleans,  bound  to 
Nashville. 

There  are  a  few  new  settlements  in  the  next  seven  miles, 
when  on  a  point  on  the  left  we  passed  the  first  farm  in 
Palmyra,  and  rowing  strong  in  to  prevent  being  carried  to 
the  right  of  Palmyra  island,  we  stopped  and  moored  at  the 
bank. 

^"  Walnut  Hills  is  the  site  of  Vicksburg,  which  was  laid  out  as  a  town  in  1811. 
This  territory,  between  31°  and  32°  30'  north  latitude,  was  in  contention  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States  from  the  treaty  of  1783  until  that  known  as  Pinckney's 
treaty  in  1795,  when  Spain  consented  to  recognize  the  right  of  the  United  States  to 
the  disputed  strip.  Meanwhile,  the  local  authorities  refused  to  surrender  the  forts, 
and  it  was  not  until  1798  that  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops  took  possession 
of  Fort  Nogales  (built  on  this  site  in  1789),  and  changed  its  name  to  Fort  McHenry, 
in  honor  of  the  then  secretary  of  war.  This  territory  was  part  of  the  grant  of  the 
Yazoo  Company,  whose  frauds  caused  so  much  contention  over  titles  in  the  district. 
See  Haskins,  "The  Yazoo  Land  Companies,"  in  American  Historical  Association 
Papers  (New  York,  1891),  v,  pp.  395-437. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  307 

It  is  about  seven  years  since  several  families  from  New 
England  commenced  this  beautiful  settlement.  The  situa- 
tion is  almost  a  peninsula,  formed  by  a  continued  bending 
of  the  river  in  an  extent  of  four  miles,  the  whole  of  which 
is  cultivated  in  front,  but  the  clearing  extends  back  only  one 
hundred  and  fifty  rods,  where  is  a  lake,  and  some  low 
swampy  land,  always  inundated  during  the  summer  freshes. 
There  are  sixteen  families,  who  occupy  each  a  front  of  only 
forty  rods,  so  that  the  settlement  has  the  appearance  of  a 
straggling  village.  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  as  a  proof  of 
which,  Mrs.  Hubbard,  to  whose  house  I  went  for  milk, 
informed  me  that  last  year  she  had  gathered  seventeen 
thousand  pounds  of  cotton  in  [281]  seed,  from  nine  acres, 
which,  allowing  it  to  lose  about  three  quarters  in  cleaning, 
left  five  hundred  pounds  of  clean  cotton  to  the  acre,  which 
is  a  great  excess  of  produce  over  the  West  India  or  Georgia 
plantations,  where  an  acre  rarely  yields  more  than  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds.  At  this  early  season  the 
com  was  well  advanced,  and  I  observed  some  in  tassel. 

Palmyra  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  settlements  in  the 
Mississippi  Territory,  the  inhabitants  having  used  all  that 
neatness  and  industry  so  habitual  to  the  New  Englanders. 
They  now  complain  that  they  have  too  little  land,  and  several 
of  them  have  appropriated  more  on  the  banks  of  a  lake 
about  a  mile  behind  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
Louisiana.  I  think  the  lake  and  swamp  behind  Palmyra 
must  render  it  unhealthy,  and  the  pale  sallow  countenances 
of  the  settlers,  with  their  confession  that  they  are  annually 
subject  to  fevers  and  agues,  when  the  river  begins  to  sub- 
side, confirms  me  in  my  opinion.  Indeed  this  remark 
may  be  applied  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  whole 
of  its  long  course,  between  the  conflux  of  the  Ohio  and  the 
Gulph  of  Mexico. 

June    6th. —  We   proceeded   this  morning  through  the 


308  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

channel  between  Palmyra  and  Palmyra  island,  which  at 
low  water  is  almost  dry. 

The  Mississippi  has  a  westerly  course  past  Palmyra,  from 
which  it  crooks  gradually  to  the  southward,  and  then  to 
the  eastward,  so  that  Point  Pleasant  in  Louisiana,  fifteen 
miles  by  the  river  below  Palm)n:a,  is  only  two  miles  distant 
by  a  road  across  the  swamp  from  the  opposite  bank.  There 
are  some  islands  in  the  river  in  that  distance,  but  few  settle- 
ments on  either  bank,  until  we  came  to  Point  Pleasant, 
from  whence  downwards  the  banks  gradually  become  more 
thickly  inhabited. 

[282]  Let  it  be  remarked  that  the  river  is  generally  from 
half  to  three  quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  except  in  such  parts 
as  I  have  particularized  its  breadth. 

Big  Black  river,  which  is  deep,  but  only  forty  yards  wide 
at  its  mouth,  after  a  S.  W.  course  from  the  Chickasaw 
nation,  discharges  itself  into  the  Mississippi  on  the  left, 
seven  miles  below  Point  Pleasant.  There  are  several  set- 
tlements on  the  banks  of  Big  Black,  for  forty  miles  above 
its  mouth,  and  a  town  was  laid  out  on  it  which  has  not  suc- 
ceeded, and  on  account  of  its  unhealthy  situation,  probably 
never  will."*  A  quarter  of  a  mile  below  Big  Black,  a  ridge 
of  hills  called  the  Grand  Gulph  hills,  terminates  abruptly 
at  a  bluff  on  the  left  bank.  At  the  base  of  the  bluff,  are  a 
heap  of  loose  rocks,  near  which  is  a  quarry  of  close  granite, 
from  which  some  industrious  eastern  emigrants  have  cut 
some  excellent  mill  and  grindstones.  These  hills  form  a 
barrier  which  turns  the  river  suddenly  from  the  eastern 
course  it  had  held  for  a  few  miles  above,  to  a  S.  W.  direction, 
and  it  is  at  the  same  time  narrowed  by  a  projecting  point 
on  the  right,  called  Trent's  point,  to  about  a  quarter  of  a 

*•'  This  settlement  on  the  Big  Black  was  made  by  Connecticut  emigrants  upon  a 
grant  to  General  Phineas  Lyman  (1775),  when  the  region  was  part  of  West  Florida, 
Several  journals  detailing  the  hardships  of  the  colonists  are  extant,  notably  that  of 
Captain  Matthew  Phelps. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  309 

mile  wide.  The  acute  angle  and  the  sudden  compression 
of  the  waters  of  the  river,  form  what  is  called  the  Grand 
Gulph,  immediately  below  the  narrows,  making  two  great 
eddies,  between  which  the  true  current  runs  in  so  narrow  a 
limit  for  about  half  a  mile,  that  some  skill  and  dexterity  are 
necessary  to  keep  a  boat  in  it,  and  to  prevent  her  being 
sucked  into  one  or  the  other  eddy,  in  which  case,  particularly 
in  that  on  the  left,  she  will  be  carried  round  in  a  circle  of  a 
mile  or  two,  and  require  the  greatest  exertions  of  the  oars 
to  extricate  her.  Delay  is  the  only  inconvenience  attending 
the  getting  engulphed,  as  there  is  no  whirlpool  of  sufficient 
suction  to  draw  down  even  a  skiff.  Trent  has  a  good  house 
and  farm,  and  a  most  delightful  situation  on  the  right  hand 
point,  which  is  as  high  above  common  inundation,  [283]  as 
any  other  part  of  the  river  level  banks,  but  the  swamp 
approaching  close  behind,  contracts  the  farm  more  than  a 
proprietor  would  wish. 

I  may  here  observe  that  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  form 
a  natural  dam,  barrier  or  levee,  more  or  less  broad,  from 
fifty  paces  to  three  or  four  miles,  behind  which  the  land 
slopes  to  nearly  the  level  of  the  bed  of  the  river,  so  that  in 
every  summer  flood,  there  is  a  general  back  inundation,  on 
the  subsiding  of  which,  so  much  stagnant  water  remains, 
as  to  cause  annual  attacks  of  fever  and  ague,  which  accounts 
for  the  sallow  complexion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  banks. 

In  the  eight  miles  between  the  Grand  Gulph  and  Bayau 
Pierre,  there  are  several  settlements  on  the  right,  and  but 
three  or  four  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  the  most  conspic- 
uous of  which  is  that  of  Major  Davenport,  began  about  a 
year  ago. 

At  three,  P.  M.  having  cast  off  from  Mr.  Wells's  boats, 
we  rowed  into  the  mouth  of  Bayau  Pierre,  up  which  we 
advanced  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  then  fastened  to  a  willow, 
in  the  middle  of  the  river. 


3 1  o  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

The  contrast  between  our  situation  now,  and  while  in  the 
Mississippi  was  very  striking.  From  a  noble,  majestick, 
stream,  with  a  rapid  current,  meandering  past  points,  islands, 
plantations  and  wildernesses,  and  bearing  the  produce  of  the 
inland  states,  in  innumerable  craft  of  every  kind,  to  New 
Orleans  and  the  ocean.  To  find  myself  suddenly  in  a  deep, 
dark,  narrow  stagnate  piece  of  water,  surrounded  closely 
by  a  forest  of  tall  willows,  poplars,  and  other  demi  aquatick 
trees,  and  not  a  sound  to  be  heard,  except  the  monotonous 
croakings  of  frogs,  interrupted  occasionally  by  the  bull  like 
roaring  of  an  alligator  —  the  closeness  of  the  woods  exclud- 
ing every  current  of  air,  and  hosts  of  musquitoes  attack- 
ing one  in  every  [284]  quarter.  The  tout  ensemble  was  so 
gloomy,  that  a  British  seaman,  one  of  Wells's  boat's  crew, 
who  had  volunteered  to  assist  in  getting  our  boat  into  the 
bayau,  looking  round,  exclaimed  emphatically  — 

"And  is  it  here  you  stop,  and  is  this  the  country  to  which 
so  many  poor  ignorant  devils  remove,  to  make  their  for- 
tunes ?  —  D ^n  my  precious  eyes  if  I  would  not  rather 

be  at  allowance  of  a  mouldy  biscuit  a  day,  in  any  part  of 
Old  England,  or  even  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  or  Mary- 
land, than  I  would  be  obliged  to  live  in  such  a  country  as 
this  two  years,  to  own  the  finest  cotton  plantation,  and  the 
greatest  gang  of  negroes  in  the  territory.' ' 

CHAPTER  XLIX 

Commence  my  tour  by  land  —  Bruinsbury  —  A  primitive 
clergyman  —  Bayau  Pierre  swamp  —  Hilly  country  — 
Plantations  —  Thunder  storm  —  A  benevolent  shoe- 
maker —  Norris's  —  Cole's  creek  —  A  consequential 
landlord  —  Greenville  —  Union  town  —  A  travelling 
painter. 

On  Monday  2  2d  August,  I  set  out  from  Bruinsbury  on 
horseback,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  most  improved 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  311 

parts  of  the  Mississippi  territory,  and  the  adjacent  part  of 
the  Spanish  province  of  West  Florida. 

Bruinsbury  was  the  property  of  judge  Bruin,  "^  until  lately, 
that  he  sold  it  together  with  a  claim  to  about  three  thousand 
acres  of  the  surrounding  land  to  Messrs.  Evans  and  Over- 
aker  of  Natchez,  reserving  to  himself  his  house,  offices  and 
garden. 

It  is  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  bayau  Pierre,  the  banks 
of  which  being  low  and  swampy,  and  always  annually 
overflowed  in  the  spring,  he  projected  the  [285]  intended 
town  of  Bruinsbury,  where  there  was  a  tolerably  high  bank 
and  a  good  landing  which  has  only  been  productive  of  a 
cotton  gin,  a  tavern,  and  an  overseer's  house  for  Mr.  Evan's 
plantation,  exclusive  of  the  judge's  own  dwelling  house, 
and  it  will  probably  never  now  become  a  town  notwith- 
standing many  town  lots  were  purchased,  as  Mr.  Evans 
means  to  plant  all  the  unappropriated  lots,  preferring  the 
produce  in  cotton  to  the  produce  in  houses. 

I  was  accompanied  from  the  judge's  by  an  elderly  Pres- 
byterian clergyman,  a  native  of  New  England,  who  had 
been  a  missionary  among  the  Chickasaw  or  Cherokee 
nations.  He  was  a  man  of  great  simplicity  of  manners,  and 
wonderfully  ignorant  of  all  established  modes.  During 
the  short  time  we  rode  together,  the  characteristick  feature 
of  his  country  was  displayed  in  the  innumerable  questions 
he  asked  me  relative  to  whence  I  came,  where  I  was  going, 
and  my  objects  and  intentions,  particularly  in  my  present  jour- 

*••  Judge  Peter  Bryan  Bruin  was  an  Irishman,  who  having  come  to  America 
while  yet  young,  became  a  patriot  in  the  Revolution,  joined  Morgan's  riflemen, 
and  was  captured  at  the  siege  of  Quebec.  He  entered  Morgan's  New  Madrid  land 
scheme,  but  proceeding  to  Natchez  settled  as  a  planter  at  the  mouth  of  Bayou 
Pierre,  where  he  was  alcalde  under  the  Spanish  regime.  Upon  the  organization  of 
Mississippi  Territory,  Bruin  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  territorial  judges, 
which  office  he  held  until  his  resignation  in  1810.  The  site  of  his  plantation  is 
noted  as  the  point  where  Grant  crossed  the  Mississippi  and  began  his  march  against 
Vicksburg. —  Ed. 


312  EiUrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

ney.  I  at  last  discovered  a  mode  of  parrying  his  wearisome 
curiosity,  by  becoming  curious  in  my  turn.  This  seemed 
to  gratify  him  equally,  as  it  led  to  a  circumstantial  account 
of  a  life  as  little  chequered  by  incident  as  can  be  conceived. 
He  had  been  the  scholar  of  the  family,  one  of  the  sons  of  a 
farmer's  family  in  New  England  being  always  selected 
for  that  purpose.  He  had  graduated  at  college  —  been 
ordained  —  went  to  Carolina  —  kept  a  school  there  —  was 
appointed  by  a  synod  a  missionary  for  the  propagation  of 
the  gospel  among  the  Indians,  in  which  situation  for  several 
years,  he  had  raised  a  family,  and  leaving  his  eldest  children 
to  possess  and  cultivate  lands  granted  him  by  the  Indians, 
he  had  removed  with  his  wife  and  his  youngest  children  to 
this  territory,  where,  by  keeping  a  school,  preaching  alternate 
Sundays,  at  two  or  three  different  places,  twelve  or  fourteen 
miles  asunder,  and  cultivating  a  small  cotton  plantation,  he 
made  a  very  comfortable  subsistence.  [286]  Although  I 
could  not  agree  with  him  with  respect  to  the  comfort  of  a 
subsistence  so  hardly  earned,  yet  I  could  not  help  admiring 
the  truth  of  the  old  adage,  that  custom  is  second  nature,  and 
always  fits  the  back  to  the  burthen. 

Our  first  two  miles  was  through  the  river  bottom,  the 
most  remote  part  of  which  from  the  river,  is  inundated  an- 
nually by  the  back  waters  of  bayau  Pierre,  which  overflows 
all  the  neighbouring  low  lands  for  forty  miles  from  its 
mouth,  when  its  current  is  checked  by  the  rising  of  the 
Mississippi.  On  the  subsiding  of  the  floods,  so  much 
water  remains  stagnant,  as  to  cause  the  fever  and  ague  to 
be  endemick  in  all  the  tract  of  country  washed  by  the  bayau 
Pierre,  from  ten  miles  above  the  town  of  Port  Gibson. 

On  leaving  the  swamp  we  ascended  a  hfll,  on  the  brow 
of  which  is  a  charmingly  situated  plantation  owned  and 
occupied  by  a  Mr.  Smith.  The  increased  elasticity  of  the 
air,  renovated  our  spirits,  and  seemed  to  increase  the  good 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  313 

parson's  garrulity.  A  mile  of  a  delightful  road  through 
open  woods  on  a  dry  ridge  brought  us  from  Mr.  Smith's, 
to  Mr.  Robert  Cochran's  fine  plantation.  It  was  near  din- 
ner time,  and  a  thunder  cloud  rising  before  us,  gave  my 
companion  a  pretext  for  wishing  to  stop,  but  I  having  de- 
clared before  that  I  would  not,  and  now  refusing  Mr.  Coch- 
ran's invitation,  who  from  the  stile  as  we  passed  told  us 
dinner  was  on  the  table,  the  good  man  good  humouredly 
sacrificed  his  desire  to  mine,  and  proceeded  with  me,  by 
which  complaisance  he  got  wet  to  the  skin.  He  only  accom- 
panied me  another  mile,  turning  off  to  the  left  to  go  to 
Greenville,  while  I  continued  my  route  to  the  southward 
along  the  lower  Natchez  road,  which  runs  nearly  parallel 
to  the  Mississippi,  on  the  ridges  behind  the  river  bottoms. 

A  thunder  cloud  which  had  been  threatening  at  a  distance 
for  some  time  before,  now  began  to  rise  and  spread  rapidly. 
It  was  in  vain  that  I  put  spurs  to  my  [287]  horse  —  I  was 
instantly  deluged  with  torrents  of  rain,  accompanied  by  as 
tremendous  thunder  and  lightning  as  I  ever  had  before  wit- 
nessed, and  a  heavy  gust  of  wind  at  the  same  time,  blew  down 
several  trees  in  every  direction  close  round  me.  My  horse 
though  an  old  steady  traveller,  was  so  affrighted  that  I  could 
not  manage  him  but  with  great  difficulty.  Three  miles  and 
a  half  through  the  storm  brought  me  to  Glascock's  small 
plantation,  where  I  fortified  against  a  chill  with  a  glass  of 
gin  presented  to  me  by  the  good  lady  of  the  house,  who  also 
regaled  me  with  some  fine  peaches.  The  rain  soon  sub- 
siding, I  resumed  my  journey  in  my  wet  clothes,  but  I  had 
scarcely  advanced  a  mile,  when  another  shower  forced  me 
to  take  shelter  at  a  small,  but  pleasantly  situated  farm, 
rented  by  a  Mr.  Hopper  from  Mr.  Cochran. 

The  face  of  the  country  became  now  more  broken,  but 
the  soil  improved,  and  the  road  degenerating  to  a  bridle 
path  through  the  woods,  and  being  hilly,  and  forked  and 


314  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

intersected  by  cattle  paths,  was  both  difficult  to  find  and 
disagreeable  to  travel.  A  mile  from  Hopper's,  I  stopped 
at  an  old  school-house,  where  I  observed  a  shoemaker  at 
work  under  a  shed  in  front  of  the  cabin,  to  get  my  boot 
mended.  He  was  named  Ostun,  had  lately  arrived  from 
South  Carolina  with  his  family,  and  had  made  the  unoccu- 
pied school-house  his  temporary  abode,  until  he  should  find 
an  eligible  situation  for  a  settlement.  He  repaired  my 
boot,  entertained  me  with  his  intentions,  hopes,  and  expec- 
tations, regretted  he  had  no  shelter  to  offer  me  for  myself 
and  my  horse,  that  he  might  prevent  my  going  farther  that 
night  through  the  rain  (which  was  literally  the  case,  as  the 
old  little  cabin  let  the  water  in  at  almost  every  part)  and 
would  accept  of  nothing  for  his  trouble.  It  would  be  un- 
pardonable to  neglect  noticing  the  kindness  of  this  plain, 
honest  shoemaker,  in  a  country  where  benevolence  is  a  virtue 
not  too  much  practised. 

[288]  A  mile  from  hence,  by  the  advice  of  my  friendly 
shoemaker,  I  turned  to  the  left,  to  seek  shelter  for  the  night, 
at  the  hospitable  cabin  and  fine  farm  of  Mr.  James  Norris, 
half  a  mile  farther,  instead  of  keeping  the  usual  road  to  the 
right,  two  miles  to  Mr.  Joseph  Calvet's.^""  I  was  well  recom- 
pensed for  my  deviation,  by  a  frank  and  hearty  welcome,  a 
pleasant  fire,  a  good  supper,  an  excellent  bed,  and  the  intelli- 
gence that  I  was  on  the  best  and  plainest  road,  and  the  short- 
est by  four  miles.  This  neighbourhood  consists  of  half  a 
dozen  families,  chiefly  from  South  Carolina,  from  which 
state  Mr.  Norris  came  a  few  years  ago.  I  found  him  fully 
deserving  the  high  character  Mr.  Ostun  gave  me  of  him  for 
hospitality.  He  strongly  recommended  my  settling  some 
place  near,  and  recommended  it  to  me  to  purchase,  if  possi- 
ble, a  tract  of  land  owned  by  Mr.  Cochran,  near  Hopper's. 

^'"  Joseph  Calvit  served  as  lieutenant  in  Clark's  Illinois  campaign,  and  was 
with  him  at  Kaskaskia  in  1779.  Later  going  to  the  Natchez  country,  he  became 
a  prominent  and  respected  citizen  of  Mississippi. —  Ed. 


1 807-1  Sop]  Cuming*  s  Tour  to  the  West  315 

August  23d,  departing  from  Mr.  Norris's  at  early  dawn, 
the  road,  which  had  been  opened  wide  enough  for  a  wagon, 
but  now  much  overgrown  by  poke  and  other  high  weeds, 
(the  dew  from  which  as  I  pressed  through  them,  wet  me 
as  much  as  a  shower  of  rain  would  have  done)  led  me  along 
the  top  of  a  narrow  and  very  crooked  ridge  in  generally  a 
S.  E.  direction  nearly  four  miles,  where  coming  to  three 
forks,  I  kept  the  left  one  which  brought  me  in  a  mile  more 
through  some  beautiful  open  woods  on  a  light  soil  to  a  small 
corn  field  on  the  right,  with  no  habitation  visible,  beyond 
which  I  crossed  up  to  my  horse's  knees  the  North  fork  of 
Cole's  creek,  which  now  was  a  pretty  little,  transparent,  sandy 
bottomed  stream,  but  after  heavy  rains  it  swells  suddenly 
and  becomes  a  frightful  and  deep  torrent,  sometimes  im- 
passible for  several  days.  Turning  to  the  left  beyond  the 
creek,  I  had  one  mile  to  an  old  deserted  field,  now  an  arid 
plain,  affording  a  very  scanty  pasture  of  poor  grass  to  a  few 
lean  cattle.  The  distant  crowing  of  a  cock  [289]  advertised 
me  of  my  approach  to  a  settlement,  and  I  soon  after  came 
to  a  com  field  and  a  hatter's  shop,  on  the  banks  of  the  middle 
fork  of  Cole's  creek,  a  stream  in  size  and  appearance  similar 
to  the  North  fork.  Crossing  it,  the  road  led  through  some 
small  plantations  on  a  light  thin  sandy  soil,  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  Greenville,  where  I  put  up  at  Green's  tavern  and 
breakfasted.  My  host  affected  a  little  consequence,  but 
when  he  understood  that  I  was  in  search  of  land  to  settle 
on,  he  became  more  attentive,  and  persuaded  me  much,  to 
purchase  from  him,  a  tract  of  land  in  the  neighbourhood, 
which  he  recommended  very  highly. 

Greenville  (or  Huntstown,  its  old  name)  the  capital  of 
Jefferson  county,  is  very  handsomely  situated,  on  a  dry 
sandy  plain  near  the  middle  branch  of  Cole's  creek.  It  is 
surrounded  at  a  little  distance  by  small  farms  and  woods, 
which  add  variety  and  beauty  to  its  appearance.    A  stranger 


3 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

would  suppose  it  healthy,  but  my  information  respecting 
it  was  rather  the  reverse,  particularly  in  the  autumnal 
months,  when  it  is  subject  to  bilious  disorders.  Perhaps 
this  may  be  owing  to  the  excessive  heat  occasioned  by  the 
reflection  of  the  sun  from  the  sandy  soil,  as  it  is  sufficiently 
elevated,  and  there  is  no  stagnant  pond,  nor  low  marsh, 
near  it  to  generate  fevers.  This  is  probably  one  cause  of  its 
being  in  a  state  of  decay;  another  may  be  the  difficulty  of 
approaching  it  during  floods  in  Cole's  creek,  which  happen 
after  every  rain,  and  which  in  a  manner  insulate  it  while 
they  last.  It  consists  of  one  wide  straight  street  nearly  half 
a  mile  long,  running  N.  by  W.  and  S.  by  E.  intersected  by 
two  small  cross  ones,  containing  in  all  forty  tolerably  good 
houses,  many  of  which  are  now  unoccupied,  and  offered 
for  sale,  at  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  their  cost  in  build- 
ing. It  has  a  small  church  for  general  use  of  all  christian 
sects,  a  small  court-house,  a  gaol  and  a  pillory,  a  post- 
office,  two  stores,  two  taverns,  [290]  and  an  apothecary's 
shop.  The  town  is  well  watered  by  wells  dug  to  about 
thirty  feet  deep.*°^ 

Proceeding  to  the  S.  S.  W.  keeping  to  the  right  at  the 
south  end  of  the  town,  at  one  mile  I  crossed  a  deep  ravine, 
with  a  spring  well  and  a  washing  camp  in  it,  overhung  by 
a  house  on  the  projecting  comer  of  a  small  plantation,  on  a 
hill  on  the  left. 

The  road  was  well  opened,  but  hilly,  through  the  woods, 
for  two  miles  farther,  when  on  crossing  a  water  course  (now 
dry)  and  rising  a  hill,  I  had  a  view  on  the  right,  over  the 
extensive  plantation  of  colonel  West,^°^  who  has  upwards  of 

^"  Greenville  was  laid  out  as  the  seat  of  Jefferson  County,  in  1802,  being  named 
in  honor  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  When  the  county- 
seat  was  removed  to  Fayette  in  1825,  Greenville  declined  in  importance,  and  the 
site  is  now  a  cotton-field. —  Ed. 

^°*  Colonel  Cato  West  was  a  Virginian  who  removed  to  Georgia  at  an  early 
day,  and  subsequently  left  the  Holston  Valley  to  join  George  Rogers  Clark  in  Ken- 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  317 

two  hundred  acres  in  one  field  in  cultivation.  The  soil 
seems  very  thin,  as  in  the  whole  neighbourhood  of  Green- 
ville, but  the  crop  of  cotton  and  com  now  looked  luxuriant, 
from  the  wetness  of  the  season. 

Two  miles  farther  I  passed  on  the  right  Parker  Cardine's 
delightfully  situated  plantation,  with  an  excellent  dwelling 
house,  and  good  apple  and  peach  orchards,  with  the  south 
branch  of  Cole's  creek,  winding  round  on  the  right  below, 
and  which  I  crossed  soon  after.  The  soil  however  is  very 
light,  and  is  soon  washed  off,  and  worn  out,  where  it  has 
been  cultivated  a  few  years,  on  the  whole  tract  between 
Greenville  and  Natchez. 

The  country  here  is  well  opened  and  inhabited  to  a  little 
beyond  Uniontown,  which  is  a  small  village  of  three  or  four 
houses  in  decay,  about  a  mile  beyond  Cardine's.^"' 

I  stopped  at  Uniontown  to  ]eed  my  horse,  (I  make  use  of 
the  active  verb  ]eed^  instead  of  the  passive  one,  to  have 
my  horse  fed,  as  travellers  in  this  country,  who  will  not  take 
the  trouble  of  giving  com  and  fodder  to  their  horses  them- 
selves, may  expect  to  have  them  soon  die  of  famine,  although 
they  pay  extravagantly  for  food  and  attendance.)  I  was 
here  joined  by  a  trig  looking  young  man  mounted  on  a  mule, 
who  requested  to  accompany  me  on  the  road  towards  Nat- 
chez. [291]  In  riding  along,  he  entertained  me  with  his 
history.  He  said  his  name  was  Jackson  —  that  he  was  born 
in  London  —  was  bred  a  painter,  and  was  sent  to  a  rich 
uncle  in  St.  Vincents,  when  only  fourteen  years  old.  That 
aided  by  his  uncle,  he  had  traded  among  the  West  India 

tucky.  Finding  the  current  of  the  Ohio  difficult  to  stem,  he  floated  down  to  Natchez, 
secured  a  Spanish  grant,  and  became  a  leading  citizen  of  early  Mississippi.  Colonel 
West  was  secretary  of  the  territory  from  1802-09,  and  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  in  1817. —  Ed. 

^"^  Parker  Carradine  was  a  Mississippian  who  came  thither  during  the  English 
rule,  and  belonged  to  the  party  who  opposed  Willing  and  Gayoso,  the  American 
and  Spanish  invaders  of  the  Natchez  district. 

Uniontown  is  now  a  small  hamlet  known  as  Union  Church. —  Ed. 


3 1 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

islands,  until  he  was  seventeen,  when  being  concerned  with 
a  son  of  colonel  Haffey,  in  a  contraband  adventure  to 
Martinique,  he  lost  every  thing,  and  then  came  to  the  con- 
tinent, where  he  had  supported  himself  as  an  itinerant  house 
and  landscape  painter,  in  which  capacity  he  had  travelled 
over  most  parts  of  the  United  States.  Unfortunately  for 
the  credit  of  his  veracity,  he  described  my  old  friend  colonel 
Henry  Hafifey,  as  a  native  French  creole  of  Martinique, 
when  in  reality,  he  was  born  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  and 
had  nothing  of  the  Frenchman,  either  in  manner  or  charac- 
ter. Besides,  having  no  children  himself,  he  had  adopted 
Henry  Hafifey  Gums,  a  nephew  of  his  wife's.  On  this  dis- 
covery I  humoured  my  companion,  and  afiFected  to  believe 
all  he  said,  which  betrayed  him  into  many  laughable  absurdi- 
ties and  contradictions. 

CHAPTER  L 

Sulserstown  —  Washington  —  Mr.  Blennerhasset's  —  Nat- 
chez —  Historical  sketch  of  Mississippi  territory  —  Col. 
Sargeant's  —  Col.  Scott's  —  Fine  country  —  Mr.  Green's. 

The  road  turning  more  to  the  S.  W.  led  us  through  a 
wood  along  a  high  ridge  a  little  broken  by  hills,  descending 
abruptly  on  each  hand  at  intervals,  with  only  one  small 
settlement  in  the  six  miles  to  Sulserstown,  which  is  a  village 
of  ten  small  houses,  [292]  three  of  which  are  taverns.  After 
passing  it,  I  observed  to  the  N.  W.  an  extensive  cotton 
plantation,  with  a  good  house  in  a  very  picturesque  situa- 
tion, occasioned  by  an  insulated  hill  near  it,  with  a  flat  plain 
on  the  top,  cultivated  in  cotton,  supported  on  every  side 
by  a  clifiE,  clothed  with  wood,  rising  abruptly  from  the  culti- 
vated plantation  below,  which  beyond  the  insulated  hill, 
was  bounded  by  a  range  of  broken  higher  hills,  cultivated 
to  near  the  tops,  and  crowned  with  woods. 

Six  miles  more  brought  us  through  a  tolerably  well  in- 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  319 

habited  country,  to  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  territory, 
where  we  stopped  at  Hill's  tavern. —  This  tavern  (as  I 
find  is  the  custom  in  this  country)  is  kept  in  a  front  building 
by  Mr.  Hill,  assisted  by  some  negro  servants,  while  Mrs. 
Hill  and  her  daughters  live  in  a  detached  building  in  the 
rear,  where  I  was  received  by  them  kindly,  in  remembrance 
of  their  having  descended  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  in  my 
boat  with  me. 

Before  supper  I  walked  through  the  town,  in  which  I 
counted  thirty  scattering  houses,  including  one  store,  one 
apothecary's  shop,  three  taverns  and  a  gaol,  all  in  one  street 
on  the  Natchez  road.  The  dress  of  some  ladies  I  met  in  my 
ramble  was  tasty  and  rather  rich.  Water  is  well  supplied 
by  wells  about  forty  feet  deep,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  east  end  is  a  delightful  spring,  near  the  bank  of  St. 
Catherine's  creek,  where  is  a  hot  and  cold  bath  —  the  price 
of  bathing  is  three  eighths  of  a  dollar.  Wine,  liquors,  and 
spirits  are  sold  —  and  I  found  three  or  four  companies  of 
males  and  females,  seated  in  the  shade  of  some  spreading 
forest  trees,  enjoying  the  cool  transparent  water,  either 
pure  or  mixed  to  their  taste.  I  was  informed  that  this  was  a 
fashionable  resort  of  the  neighbouring  country,  for  several 
miles  round,  and  from  Natchez,  between  which  city  [293] 
and  Washington  a  stage  coach  plies,  arriving  here  every 
evening  and  departing  every  morning. 

Hearing  a  drum  beat,  on  enquiry,  I  was  informed,  that  it 
was  the  evening  roll  call  of  three  or  four  companies  of  foot, 
at  a  barrack  a  little  beyond  the  baths.^°* 

Govemour  Williams  has  a  plantation  adjoining  the  town, 
and  resides  in  a  neat  cottage  upon  it. 

^"**  The  seat  of  government  for  Mississippi  Territory  was  removed  from  Natchez 
to  Washington  in  1802.  Governor  Claiborne  was  authorized  to  purchase  land  for 
a  cantonment,  and  barracks,  which  was  called  Fort  Dearborn.  For  an  interesting 
description  of  Washington  at  an  early  day,  see  Claiborne,  Mississippi,  pp.  258- 
260. —  Ed. 


320  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Wednesday  24th  August. —  After  a  sleepless  night,  I 
arose  early  and  found  it  raining,  so  I  breakfasted,  and 
awaited  until  ten  o'clock,  when  it  clearing  up  a  little,  I 
rode  three  miles  in  a  southerly  direction  deviating  a  little 
to  the  right  of  the  main  road,  to  a  farm  rented  from  Mr. 
Forman  by  Mr.  Blennerhasset,  at  whose  hospitable  dwelling, 
I  was  received  by  Mr.  B.  and  his  accomplished  and  amiable 
lady  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  politeness.^"*  I  could  not 
help  contrasting  their  present  temporary  residence  in  a  de- 
cayed cabin,  with  their  splendid  and  tasty  habitation  on  the 
Ohio.  Blest  however  in  each  other,  with  kindred  souls  and 
similar  tastes  —  possessing  a  noble  library,  and  still  a 
sufficiency  left  after  all  their  losses,  with  a  well  regulated 
but  liberal  economy,  for  all  the  necessaries,  and  many  of 
the  indulgencies  of  life. 

After  dinner  I  tore  myself  with  difficulty  from  the  social 
and  intellectual  feast  I  was  enjoying,  and  proceeding  on  my 
journey  through  a  woody  country,  and  a  light  soil,  I  arrived 
at  Natchez  a  little  before  dark. 

I  was  much  struck  with  the  similarity  of  Natchez  to  many 
of  the  smaller  West  India  towns,  particularly  St.  Johns 
Antigua,  though  not  near  so  large  as  it.  The  houses  all 
with  balconies  and  piazzas  —  some  merchants'  stores  — 
several  little  shops  kept  by  free  mulattoes,  and  French 
and  Spanish  Creoles  —  the  great  mixture  of  colour  of  the 
people  in  the  streets,  and  many  other  circumstances,  with 
the  aid  of  a  little  fancy  to  heighten  the  illusion,  might  have 

^"  General  Ezekiel  Forman,  of  New  Jersey,  secured  a  Spanish  grant  and  mi- 
grated to  the  Natchez  country  in  1789-90.  See  his  nephew's  journal,  Narrative 
of  a  Journey  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  (edited  by  Lyman  C.  Draper;  Cincin- 
nati, 1888). 

Blennerhassett  retired  to  Mississippi  after  the  Richmond  trial,  and  remained 
at  this  plantation,  which  he  called  LaCache,  until  1819.  He  was  active  in  public 
affairs,  serving  on  the  committee  of  safety  in  1813.  He  removed  to  Montreal,  and 
later  returned  to  England,  dying  at  Guernsey  in  indigent  circumstances  in  1831. 
Attempts  were  made  in  1842  to  secure  restitution  for  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  from 
Congress,  but  she  died  before  this  could  be  accomplished. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  321 

made  one  [294]  suppose,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Arabian  Knight's 
Entertainments,  that  by  some  magick  power,  I  had  been 
suddenly  transported  to  one  of  those  scenes  of  my  youthful 
wanderings.  When  the  illusion  was  almost  formed,  a 
company  of  Indians  meeting  me  in  the  street  dispelled  it, 
so  bidding  adieu  to  the  romance  of  the  fancy,  I  sat  down 
to  supper  at  Mickie's  tavern,  or  hotel,  by  which  appellation 
it  is  dignified. 

On  Thursday  the  25th,  I  arose  early,  and  sauntered  to 
the  market-house  on  a  common  in  front  of  the  town,  where 
meat,  fish  and  vegetables  were  sold  by  a  motley  mixture  of 
Americans,  French  and  Spanish  Creoles,  Mulattoes  and 
negroes.  There  seemed  to  be  a  sufficiency  of  necessaries  for 
so  small  a  town,  and  the  price  of  butcher's  meat,  and  fish 
was  reasonable,  while  vegetables,  milk  and  butter  were 
extravagantly  dear. 

Natchez,  in  latitude  31°  33'  N. —  longitude  91°  29'  W.  of 
Greenwich,  contains  between  eighty  and  one  hundred  dwell- 
ing houses,  as  nearly  as  I  could  enumerate  them.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  a  very  broken  and  hilly  ground,  but  notwithstanding 
the  irregularity  and  inequality  of  the  surface,  the  streets  are 
marked  out  at  right  angles,  which  makes  them  almost  im- 
passible in  bad  weather,  except  Market  street  and  Front 
street  which  are  levelled  as  much  as  the  ground  will  permit. 
A  small  plain  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  in  front  of 
the  town  rising  gradually  to  the  edge  of  the  high  cliff  or  bluff 
which  overhangs  the  river,  veils  the  view  of  that  interesting 
object  from  the  inhabitants,  but  at  the  same  time  contributes 
to  defend  the  town  from  the  noxious  vapours  generated  in  the 
swamps  immediately  on  the  river  banks,  yet  not  so  effectually 
as  to  prevent  its  being  sometimes  subject  to  fevers  and 
agues,  especially  from  July  to  October  inclusive,  when  few 
strangers  escape  a  seasoning,  as  it  is  called,  which  frequently 
proves  mortal.  The  surrounding  country  at  a  little  distance 
[295]  from  the  Mississippi,   is  as  healthy  as  most  other 


322  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

countries  in  the  same  parallel  of  latitude.  The  landing, 
where  are  a  few  houses  immediately  under  the  bluff,  is  par- 
ticularly fatal  to  the  crews  of  the  Ohio  and  Kentucky  boats, 
who  happen  to  be  delayed  there  during  the  sickly  season. 

Though  Natchez  is  dignified  with  the  name  of  a  city, 
it  is  nevertheless  but  a  small  town.  It  is  however  a  place  of 
considerable  importance  in  consequence  of  its  being  the 
principal  emporium  of  the  commerce  of  the  territory,  and 
of  its  having  been  so  long  the  seat  of  government,  under 
the  French,  English,  and  Spaniards,  which  caused  all  the 
lands  in  the  vicinity  to  be  cultivated  and  settled,  while 
those  more  remote  were  neglected,  though  in  general  a 
much  better  soil.  There  is  a  Roman  Catholick  church, 
which  is  an  old  wooden  building  in  decay,  and  there  is  a 
brick  meeting-house  for  either  Presbyterians  or  Anabaptists, 
I  am  not  sure  which.  These,  and  an  old  hotel  de  ville,  or 
court-house,  are  the  only  publick  buildings  the  city  boasts, 
except  it  be  an  old  hospital,  now  fitting  up  as  a  theatre  for  a 
private  dramatick  society.  Several  of  the  houses  are  new 
and  very  good,  mostly  of  wood,  and  I  am  informed  many 
(more  than  half)  have  been  added  within  the  last  four  or 
five  years.  Fort  Penmure,^"*  on  the  edge  of  the  bluff  is  now 
in  ruins,  but  the  situation,  and  the  extent  of  the  old  ram- 
parts, prove  it  to  have  been  a  post  of  considerable  conse- 
quence. It  effectually  commands  the  river,  without  being 
commanded  itself,  and  the  view  from  it  is  very  extensive, 
particularly  over  the  flat  swamps  of  Louisiana,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Mississippi. 

^"'  Fort  Panmure  was  the  British  name  of  the  Natchez  Post,  which  had  been 
called  Fort  Rosalie  by  the  French.  The  EngUsh  garrison  found  the  latter  in  a 
ruinous  condition  when  sent  to  take  possession  in  1764.  Fort  Panmure  was  the 
scene  of  a  struggle  between  English  Tories  and  American  sympathizers  in  1778-79. 
See  Claiborne,  Mississippi,  pp.  117-124.  The  historical  account  of  Natchez 
given  by  Cuming,  is  substantially  correct.  See  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  vol. 
iii  of  this  series,  p.  254,  note  53. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  323 

The  first  permanent  settlement  on  the  Mississippi  was 
made  in  171 2,  and  notwithstanding  many  misfortunes, 
particularly  the  failure  of  the  celebrated  Mississippi  com- 
pany, founded  by  John  [296]  Law,  during  the  regency  of 
the  duke  of  Orleans,  the  settlements  extended  in  1727  to 
Natchez,  and  a  fort  was  erected  there.  In  1731,  the  In- 
dians, disgusted  with  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  the  French 
colonists,  massacred  most  of  them,  for  which,  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  French  took  ample  vengeance,  almost  extirpa- 
ting the  whole  Natchez  race.  The  few  who  escaped  took 
refuge  amongst  their  neighbours  the  Choctaws,  where  be- 
coming naturalized,  they  soon  lost  their  original  name. 
The  French  kept  possession  of  the  country  until  1763,  when 
it  was  ceded  to  the  British.  It  continued  under  the  British 
government  until  1779,  when  it  was  surrendered  by  colonel 
Dickson  the  commander  of  the  British  troops  at  Baton 
Rouge,  to  the  Spaniards  under  Don  Bernando  de  Galvez. 
In  1798,  in  consequence  of  arrangements  between  the  United 
States  and  the  government  of  Spain,  the  latter  gave  up  all 
claim  to  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  northward 
of  the  31st  degree  of  north  latitude,  in  favour  of  the  former, 
who  erected  it  into  a  territorial  government,  under  the  name 
of  the  Mississippi  territory. 

Proceeding  to  the  southward  from  Natchez,  I  passed 
some  tasty  cottages,  and  deviating  a  little  to  the  right  of  the 
main  road,  in  two  short  miles  I  came  to  colonel  (late  gov- 
emour)  Sergeant's  handsome  brick  house.''"'    The  road  led 

^°'  Winthrop  Sargent  was  bom  at  Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  in  1753,  and  served 
under  General  Knox  throughout  the  Revolution.  Shortly  after  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates,  and  in  1786  was  appointed  surveyor 
therefor.  Upon  the  organization  of  Northwest  Territory  (1787),  Sargent  was  ap- 
pointed secretary,  and  continued  in  this  oflSce  until  chosen  governor  of  the  newly- 
organized  Territory  of  Mississippi  (1798).  Sargent  was  a  man  of  ability,  a  scholar, 
and  a  poet;  but  being  a  Federalist  and  of  New  England  austerity,  he  was  unpopular 
among  his  Democratic  neighbors,  and  was  removed  by  Jefferson  in  1801.  He 
died  in  New  Orleans  in  1820. —  Ed. 


324  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

through  a  double  swinging  gate  into  a  spacious  lawn,  which 
the  colonel  has  formed  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  the  chief 
ornament  of  which  was  a  fine  flock  of  sheep.  The  appear- 
ance of  this  plantation  bespoke  more  taste  and  convenience 
than  I  had  yet  observed  in  the  territory.  Riding  half  a  mile 
through  the  lawn,  I  left  it  by  a  similar  gate  to  the  first,  and 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  more  of  an  open  wood  brought  me  to 
colonel  Wm.  Scott's,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion. 

[297]  He  received  me  according  to  his  usual  custom  with 
kindness  and  hospitality,  and  presented  me  to  his  lady 
and  to  govemour  Williams,  with  whom  he  had  been  sitting 
at  breakfast.  I  was  invited  to  join  the  breakfast  party, 
and  I  spent  an  hour  very  agreeably.  The  colonel  had  been 
a  captain  in  the  United  States'  army  under  general  Wayne, 
and  on  his  arrival  in  this  country,  he  married  a  lively,  genteel 
French  woman  with  a  handsome  fortune.  He  quitted  the 
army,  and  joining  the  militia,  he  is  now  adjutant  general 
of  the  territory.  He  is  a  fine,  dashing,  spirited  and  friendly 
Irishman,  and  has  only  to  be  known  to  be  esteemed."" 

I  forbear  mentioning  my  opinion  of  the  govemour,  as  the 
curse  of  party  pervades  this  territory,  as  well  as  every  other 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  any  opinion  of  a  publick 
character,  would  not  faU  to  offend  one  or  the  other  party. 

After  resisting  a  pressing  invitation  to  prolong  my  visit, 
I  proceeded  on  my  journey,  passing  several  fine  and  well 
cultivated  plantations,  the  most  conspicuous  of  which  were 
Mr.  Burling's,  Sir  Wm.  Dunbar's,  Mr.  Poindexter's  and 

*"'  Colonel  William  Scott  enlisted  from  Maryland,  being  at  first  ensign  (1795)1 
then  lieutenant  in  the  third  infantry,  and  captain  (1800).  Two  years  later,  he  was 
honorably  discharged  and  retired  to  Mississippi.  He  served  as  heutenant-colonel 
of  the  Thirty-sixth  Infantry  in  the  War  of  1812-15. 

Governor  Robert  Williams  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  had  served  in 
Congress  and  on  a  commission  for  adjusting  Mississippi  land-titles  before  he  was 
appointed  as  governor  of  the  territory  (1804).  The  chief  episode  of  his  term 
(1805-09)  was  the  apprehension  of  Burr. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  325 

Mr.  Abner  Green's.'"'  I  had  now  come  twelve  miles,  and 
it  being  excessively  hot,  I  stopped  at  Mr.  Green's  to  request 
some  fodder  for  my  horse,  to  which  Mr.  Green  obligingly 
added  an  invitation  to  dinner  to  myself.  After  dinner,  Mr. 
Green  invited  me  to  look  at  his  garden,  which  was  very 
spacious,  and  well  stocked  with  useful  vegetables,  and  un- 
derstanding that  I  had  been  in  the  West  Indian  islands,  he 
made  me  observe  some  ginger  in  a  thriving  state,  and  the 
cullaloo  or  Indian  kail,  also  some  very  fine  plants  of  Guinea 
grass,  which  he  proposes  propagating.    There  was  some 

"*•  These  were  among  the  most  prominent  of  early  Mississippians. 

Sir  William  Dunbar  was  a  Scotchman,  who  came  to  America  because  of  failing 
health,  and  embarked  in  the  Indian  trade  at  Fort  Pitt  in  1771.  Two  years  later 
he  removed  to  West  Florida,  and  shortly  after  settled  at  Natchez.  Under  the  Span- 
ish regime  he  was  chief  surveyor,  and  in  1797  boundary  commissioner  for  that 
power.  He  was  appointed  judge  of  the  first  territorial  court  in  1798.  Dunbar 
was  a  successful  planter,  and  had  the  first  screw-press  for  cotton,  in  Mississippi. 
He  also  had  scientific  attainments,  and  was  a  member  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society.    He  died  in  1810,  leaving  many  descendants. 

Abner  Green  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  prominent  Mississippi  families.  He 
was  brother  of  Colonel  Thomas  Green,  fast  territorial  delegate;  his  father  was  a 
Virginian  who  came  to  Natchez  under  the  Spanish  regime,  and  was  influential  in 
having  Georgia  assert  its  authority  over  this  territory.  Abner  Green  was  register 
of  probates  under  the  Bourbon  County,  Georgia,  act,  and  treasurer-general  for  the 
territory  in  180 1.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Anthony  Hutchins,  and  was 
regarded  as  a  model  planter. 

George  Poindexter,  one  of  the  most  able  of  Mississippi  politicians,  was  regarded 
by  his  enemies  as  one  of  the  most  unscrupulous.  A  native  of  Virginia,  he  came  to 
Mississippi  in  1802.  His  first  public  office  was  that  of  attorney-general  for  the 
territory,  as  such  conducting  the  prosecution  of  Aaron  Burr.  Having  killed 
Abijah  Himt,  a  political  enemy,  in  a  duel,  he  was  nevertheless  exonerated  by  being 
chosen  one  of  the  territorial  judges,  which  office  he  conducted  with  fairness  and 
ability.  In  the  War  of  1812-15,  he  served  as  aide  to  Jackson  at  New  Orleans,  and 
became  one  of  the  general's  warm  partisans,  defending  him  in  Congress  in  1819. 
Poindexter  was  a  member  of  the  Mississippi  Constitutional  Convention  of  181 7,  and 
the  first  representative  in  Congress  for  the  new  state  (1818-20).  Upon  his  return 
home,  he  was  elected  governor  of  the  State  after  a  campaign  of  great  personal  bitter- 
ness, but  was  defeated  in  an  attempt  to  secure  a  second  term.  In  1830,  Poindexter 
again  entered  politics,  being  chosen  United  States  senator,  in  which  position  he 
attacked  Jackson  with  as  much  spirit  as  he  had  formerly  defended  him.  Jackson 
even  accused  Poindexter  of  having  instigated  an  attempt  upon  his  life,  but  after- 
wards was  convinced  of  his  error.  Poindexter  retired  from  public  life  in  1835, 
but  for  twenty  years  longer  continued  a  career  of  dissipation  and  excess. —  Ed. 


326  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Guinea  corn,  and  another  kind  of  corn  with  a  similar  stalk 
and  blades,  but  bearing  its  seed  in  a  large  close  knob,  at 
the  extreme  top  of  the  stalk.  That  beautiful  shrub  the 
pomegranate,  which,  though  scarce,  seems  natural  [298]  to 
this  soil  and  climate,  was  in  great  perfection,  and  several 
beds  were  occupied  by  very  fine  strawberry  plants,  which 
are  also  scarce  in  this  country. 

CHAPTER  LI 

An  Indian  monument  —  Col.  Hutchins  —  Second  creek  — 
The  Homochito  —  Buffaloe  creek  —  Long  uninhabited 
wilderness  —  Remark  on  overseers  —  Wilkinsonburg  and 
Fort  Adams  —  An  old  friend  —  Mr.  Carey's  —  Capt. 
Semple's  —  Pinckne)rville. 

Leaving  Mr.  Green's,  I  soon  after  past  Mrs.  Hutchins's 
on  the  left,  in  whose  cotton  field,  at  some  distance  from  the 
road  I  observed  an  Indian  mound  or  barrow,  similar  to  those 
which  one  so  often  meets  with  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ohio, 
and  of  which  I  have  been  informed  great  numbers  are  in 
this  country.  Mrs.  Hutchins  is  the  widow  of  a  col.  Hutchins, 
who  was  a  half  pay  British  officer,  had  considerable  landed 
property,  was  very  hospitable,  and  had  great  influence  in 
the  political  business  of  the  territory,  which  by  the  manner 
he  used  it,  acquired  him  the  character  of  an  ambitious 
monarchist."" 

This  and  all  the  neighbouring  plantations  are  called  the 
Second  creek  settlement  from  a  rivulet  of  that  name  which 


''^^  Colonel  Anthony  Hutchins,  of  New  Jersey,  joined  the  Sixtieth  Infantry  and 
served  under  General  Amherst  in  the  French  and  Indian  War.  Retired  on  half- 
pay,  he  settled  first  in  North  Carolina,  then  removed  to  Natchez  in  1772,  forming 
a  plantation  twelve  miles  therefrom,  at  White  Apple  village.  During  the  Revolu- 
tion he  was  a  persistent  Tory,  and  headed  the  party  which  recaptured  Fort  Pan- 
mure  in  1782.  Upon  the  advance  of  the  Spaniards,  Hutchins  escaped  through  the 
woods  to  Savannah,  going  thence  to  London.  He  was  only  permitted  to  return 
after  several  years  of  exile.  Upon  the  installation  of  American  government, 
Hutchins  promptly  took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  dying  shortly  after  (1804)  at  an 
advanced  age. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  2^7 

flows  from  the  eastward  towards  the  Mississippi.  The  soil 
is  much  superiour  to  that  near  Natchez,  and  the  farms  are 
generally  the  best  improved  in  the  territory.  I  observed 
a  very  handsome  coach  under  a  shed  near  Mrs.  Hutchins's 
cottage,  which  was  the  only  one  I  had  seen  in  this  country. 

The  road  led  from  hence  southerly  through  pleasant 
open  woods,  with  very  few  plantations  in  sight,  [299]  eight 
miles,  to  Greaton's  tavern  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Homochi- 
to.  After  putting  up  my  horse,  I  joined  Mr.  Greaton  in 
fishing,  he  providing  me  with  a  rod  and  line  —  I  was  un- 
successful, but  he  caught  some  delicate  catfish,  and  four 
fine  carp,  about  a  pound  and  a  half  each.  A  thunder 
shower  interrupting  our  sport,  we  returned  to  the  house, 
supped  on  our  fish,  coffee,  and  bread  and  butter,  and  retired 
for  the  night. 

The  Homochito  is  a  beautiful  little  river  of  clear  water, 
and  a  sandy  bottom,  here  about  fifty  yards  wide.  It  falls 
into  the  Mississippi  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  hence,  on  its 
banks  ten  miles  higher  up,  is  a  fine  thriving  settlement, 
called  the  Jersey  settlement,  from  the  inhabitants  having 
generally  emigrated  from  that  state;  and  10  miles  still  higher 
or  more  north  easterly,  the  lake  road  from  Orleans  to 
Natchez  crosses  it, 

Friday  26th,  I  was  ferried  across  the  Homochito  by  an 
old  Spaniard,  in  a  flat  which  he  hauled  over  by  a  rope  lead- 
ing through  two  rollers  fixed  on  the  gunwale.  I  found  the 
country  hilly,  but  the  road  was  pleasant,  and  the  soil  rich, 
though  thinly  inhabited.  I  had  eight  miles  to  Mrs.  Crosby's, 
a  remarkably  fat  widow,  who  keeps  a  tavern  and  receives 
the  toll  of  a  bridge  over  Buffaloe  creek,  which  is  a  deep, 
slow  and  muddy  little  river,  joining  the  Mississippi,  six  or 
seven  miles  from  hence,  through  a  long  and  extensive  swamp. 
My  fat  landlady  made  breakfast  for  me,  while  my  horse 
was  feeding,  after  which  I  pursued  my  way  to  the  left  of 


328  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

the  swamp,  mounting  into  a  hilly  country,  covered  with  a 
thick  cane  brake,  through  which  a  wagon  road  is  cut  in  a 
S.  W.  direction  eleven  miles,  without  settlement,  house  or 
water,  in  all  that  distance,  so  that  it  is  both  fatiguing  and 
dreary. 

I  emerged  from  the  hills  and  canes  over  a  small  creek, 
at  a  fine  plantation  of  a  Mr.  Percy.  My  horse  being  fatigued, 
I  stopped  to  request  a  little  [300]  fodder  for  him,  which  was 
accorded  with  a  very  ill  grace  by  the  overseer,  the  proprietor 
residing  at  Washington.  And  here  I  will  remark  that  the 
overseers  of  plantations  in  this  whole  territory,  are  for  the 
most  part  a  rough,  unpolished,  uncouth  class  of  people, 
which  perhaps  proceeds  from  their  being  made  use  of 
literally  as  negro  drivers,  to  keep  those  unfortunate  wretches 
to  their  work  in  the  field,  and  to  correct  them  for  all  real 
or  supposed  offences. —  They  do  this  with  their  own  hands, 
and  not  as  in  the  sugar  colonies,  by  one  of  the  slaves  them- 
selves, appointed  for  that  purpose  and  called  the  driver. 
This  renders  them  callous  to  every  thing  like  sentiment  or 
feeling,  and  gives  them  a  roughness  and  abruptness  in 
their  manners,  which  is  extremely  disagreeable  and  dis- 
gusting. 

A  good  road  with  a  ridge  of  hills  called  Loftus's  heights 
on  the  left,  and  the  swamp  which  commenced  at  Buffaloe 
creek  on  the  right,  leads  from  hence  to  Fort  Adams  in  a  dis- 
tance of  six  miles,  there  being  a  few  plantations  on  both 
sides  of  the  road,  those  on  the  right  joining  the  swamp,  and 
the  left  hand  ones  being  on  the  broken  land  beyond  the 
cliffs  and  hills."' 

Fort  Adams  or  Wilkinsonburg  is  a  poor  little  village  of  a 

"^  Loftus  Heights  was  so  named  from  the  Indian  attack  made  therefrom  in 
1764,  upon  the  British  troops  under  Major  Loftus,  who  were  going  to  secure  the 
Illinois  country.  The  detachment  was  obliged  to  retire  to  New  Orleans.  Fort 
Adams  was  bmlt  by  the  orders  of  Wilkinson  in  1798,  and  the  American  troops  from 
Natchez  and  Vicksburg  removed  thither. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  329 

dozen  houses,  most  of  them  in  decay,  hemmed  in  between 
the  heights  and  the  river.  The  fort  from  whence  it  derives 
its  first  name,  is  situated  on  a  bluff  overhanging  the  river, 
at  the  extremity  of  the  ridge  of  Loftus's  heights.  It  is  about 
one  hundred  feet  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  is  not  more  than  three  hundred  yards  wide  here,  so 
that  the  fort  completely  commands  it,  with  several  small 
brass  cannon  and  two  small  brass  howitzers  mounted  ' '  en 
barbette.' '  The  fort  which  is  faced  with  brick,  has  only  a 
level  superficies  large  enough  for  one  bastion,  with  a  small 
barrack  inside,  the  [301]  whole  of  which  is  commanded  by  a 
block-house  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  higher,  on  the  sharp 
peak  of  a  very  steep  hill,  which  in  time  of  war  might  serve  as  a 
look  out,  as  well  as  a  post,  as  it  commands  a  most  extensive 
view  over  the  surrounding  wilderness  of  forest,  as  well  as  the 
meanders  of  the  river  for  several  miles. 

The  ridge  of  hills  near  Natchez,  bounds  the  prospect  to 
the  northward,  but  there  is  nothing  for  the  eye  to  rest  on, 
not  even  a  plantation  to  be  seen,  as  they  are  all  veiled  by 
the  surrounding  forests,  the  gloom  of  which  is  heightened 
by  the  idea,  that  a  principal  portion  of  the  vast  tract  in 
sight,  is  nothing  but  an  unwholesome  swamp,  which  will 
cost  thousands  of  lives  before  it  can  ever  be  made  habitable, 
or  fit  for  cultivation.  This  is  experienced  in  a  great  degree 
at  Fort  Adams,  which  on  account  of  its  insalubrity,  is 
deserted  by  its  garrison,  a  subaltern  with  a  platoon  being 
left  in  it,  to  guard  the  pass,  and  prevent  smuggling  —  while 
the  garrison  inhabits  a  pleasant  cantonment  in  the  hills 
towards  Pinckneyville,  about  five  miles  distant.  A  path 
descends  gradually  from  the  block-house  to  the  town,  along 
a  very  narrow  ridge,  about  the  middle  of  which  is  the  burying 
place  of  the  garrison,  the  graves  of  the  officers  being  con- 
spicuous by  head  stones  with  the  name,  rank,  and  time  of 
decease.    Two  or  three  are  interred  here  who  have  been  shot 


3  3  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

in  duels,  to  which  barbarous  custom  they  are  much  addicted 
in  the  American  army. 

There  are  two  gun  boats  moored  a  Httle  above  the  fort, 
which,  with  the  long  view  up  the  river,  and  the  flat  country 
on  the  opposite  bank  put  me  in  mind  of  the  river  Shannon 
at  Tarbet  in  Ireland;  to  which  however  it  is  far  inferiour 
in  breadth  as  well  as  in  magnificence,  and  variet]^  of  scenery. 
The  unhealthiness  of  its  scite  is  probably  the  reason  that 
[302]  Wilkinsonburg  does  not  prosper,  notwithstanding  it 
is  the  capital  of  a  county,  and  is  a  post  town. 

I  put  up  at  Marsalis's  tavern,  where  my  old  and  esteemed 

friend,  doctor  H ,  lodged.    I  found  him  confined  by  a 

severe  attack  of  the  dysentery,  which  however  did  not 
prevent  his  giving  me  a  cordial  and  a  joyous  welcome. 
Notwithstanding  the  poverty  of  the  place,  Marsalis  gave 
us  a  tolerably  good  supper,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country,  of  coffee,  bread  and  butter,  sliced  bacon,  and  a 
fine  dish  of  gaspar-goo,  the  best  fish  I  had  yet  tasted  of  the 
produce  of  the  Mississippi. 

Saturday,  27th  —  My  horse  being  foundered,  doctor  H 

accommodated  me  with  another  very  good  one,  and  after 
breakfast  I  proceeded  on  a  good  road  to  the  south-eastward, 
over  the  most  broken  and  hilly  country  I  had  yet  seen  in  the 
territory,  it  leading  sometimes  along  the  brink  of  some  high 
and  steep  precipices,  but  is  kept  in  good  order  by  the  troops 
encamped  in  the  neighbourhood.  At  four  miles  I  kept 
to  the  left  towards  Pincknejrville,  instead  of  turning  to  the 
right  to  the  camp,  at  a  mile's  distance,  as  I  intended  to 
visit  it  on  my  return.  I  passed  two  small  plantations  near 
the  forks  of  the  road,  they  being  the  only  ones  between 
Wilkinsonburg  and  Mr.  Carey's,  which  was  three  miles 
farther,  the  country  becoming  gradually  less  broken. 

Mr.  Carey,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  from  H ,  received 

me  with  cordial  hospitality,  but  there  was  nothing  strange 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  331 

in  that,  he  being  a  native  of  Erin,  that  country  so  noted  for 
this,now  unfashionable  virtue."^ 

[303]  After  dinner  I  went  half  a  mile  farther  to  Capt. 
Robert  Semple's,  brother  to  my  friend  Steele  Semple,  Esq. 
of  Pittsburgh.  He  was  formerly  a  captain  in  the  United 
States'  army,  and  is  now  owner  of  a  very  fine  plantation, 
where  he  resides,  living  in  a  style  of  well  regulated,  gentle- 
manly taste  and  liberality. —  From  him  and  his  amiable 
lady  I  experienced  a  most  friendly  reception,  and  remaining 
with  them  until  next  morning  (Sunday,  28th)  I  proceeded 
on  my  route,  going  back  to  Mr.  Carey's.  Keeping  his 
plantation  on  the  left,  two  miles  S.  S.  E.  brought  me  to 
Pinckneyville.  On  arriving  at  Mr.  Carey's  yesterday,  I 
had  got  out  of  the  broken  hilly  country,  and  I  was  now  in 
one  of  alternate  plains  and  gently  sloping  hills  affording  fine 
situations  for  plantations,  mostly  occupied. 

Pinckneyville  is  a  straggling  village  of  ten  houses,  mostly 
in  decay,  and  some  of  them  uninhabited.  It  is  situated 
on  a  pleasant  sloping  plain,  and  the  surrounding  country 
is  comparatively  well  cultivated.  It  has  a  little  church,  a 
tavern,  a  store  and  a  post-office. 

CHAPTER  LII 

Enter  West  Florida  —  Fine  country  —  Don  Juan  O'Connor 

—  A  whimsical  egarement  —  Capt.  Percy  —  Bayau  Sarah 

—  Doctor  Flowers  —  Don  Thomas  Estwar  —  Mr.  Per- 
rie's  —  Thompson's  creek  —  Bad  road  —  Beautiful  plain 

—  Montesano. 

A  MILE  and  a  half  farther,  in  a  S.  E.  direction,  the  road 
crossed  the  demarkation  line,  which  divides  [304]  the  Mis- 

^^*  Curran,  in  one  of  his  celebrated  speeches,  thus  beautifully  described  the 
native  hospitality  of  his  country: 

' '  The  hospitality  of  other  countries  is  a  matter  of  necessity,  or  convention;  in  sav- 
age nations,  of  the  first;  in  polished,  of  the  latter:  but  the  hospitality  of  an  Irishman 
is  not  the  running  account  of  posted  and  ledgered  courtesies,  as  in  other  countries; 
it  springs  like  all  his  other  qualities,  his  faults,  his  virtues,  directly  from  the  heart. 
The  heart  of  an  Irishman  is  by  nature  bold,  and  he  confides;  it  is  tender,  and  he 
loves;  it  is  generous,  and  he  ^ves;  it  is  social,  and  he  is  hospitable.' ' —  Cramer. 


332  Eidrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

sissippi  territory  from  the  Spanish  province  of  West  Florida, 
at  the  first  house  from  Pinckneyville,  and  the  last  subject 
to  the  United  States.  The  line  runs  along  the  parallel  of 
the  31st  degree  of  north  latitude.  It  was  cut  forty 
feet  wide,  but  it  is  now  scarcely  perceptible,  from  the  rapid 
growth  of  trees  and  shrubs,  in  the  short  space  of  seven 
or  eight  years  since  it  was  opened,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Ellicot,  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  major  Minor  on  the  part  of  Spain."' 

I  was  now  in  the  district  of  New  Feliciana,  in  the  Spanish 
province  of  West  Florida.  A  wagon  road  through  a 
naturally  fine  country,  with  some  small  plantations  at  dis- 
tances from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile,  brought  me  in  eight  mUes 
to  Don  Juan  O'Connor's.  This  respectable  old  gentle- 
man, to  whom  I  carried  a  letter  of  introduction,  has  a  fine 


*"  Andrew  Ellicott  was  an  American  engineer  of  note.  Bom  in  Pennsylvania 
(1754)  of  Quaker  ancestry,  he  passed  his  early  life  in  Maryland,  devoting  himself 
especially  to  mathematical  studies.  In  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  he  became  a 
friend  of  Washington  and  Franklin;  and  at  their  suggestion  was  employed  to  define 
the  boundary  between  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  and  later  that  between  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  In  1792,  he  was  appointed  surveyor-general  of  the 
United  States.  He  also  assisted  in  laying  out  the  national  capital.  While  acting 
as  commissioner  for  adjusting  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States  with 
SpEiin,  according  to  the  treaty  of  1795,  Ellicott  encountered  serious  diplomatic 
diflSculties,  and  ahenated  a  party  of  the  English  inhabitants  of  the  Natchez  dis- 
trict. Claiborne's  animadversions,  however,  in  his  Mississippi,  seem  hardly 
borne  out  by  the  facts.  In  1808,  Ellicott  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania land-office;  and  four  years  later,  professor  of  mathematics  at  West  Point, 
where  he  died  in  1820.  His  journal  during  his  emplojmaent  in  the  Southwest,  is 
valuable  as  a  record  of  conditions  in  that  region. 

Stephen  Minor  was  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  educated  at  Princeton,  and  early 
came  west  to  explore  the  new  country.  At  St.  Louis  he  was  persuaded  to  convey 
some  dispatches  to  the  governor-general  of  Louisiana  at  New  Orleans,  who,  fancying 
the  frank  but  politic  young  American,  offered  him  a  position  in  the  Spanish  army. 
Minor  served  the  Spaniards  with  address  and  fidelity.  Taking  no  advantage  of 
his  position,  he  remained  loyal  to  Spain,  at  the  same  time  becoming  popular  with 
the  English-speaking  inhabitants  of  the  Natchez  district,  where  he  was  stationed. 
He  was  finally  promoted  to  the  governorship  of  Natchez,  which  he  retained  until 
its  surrender  to  the  United  States  (1798),  when  he  became  an  American  citizen,  and 
died  at  Concord,  Mississippi. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  333 

estate,  and  is  building  a  very  large  and  commodious  house, 
which,  when  finished,  he  intends  for  the  residence  of  his 
family  now  in  Philadelphia.  He  is  held  in  great  estimation 
by  the  government,  and  throughout  the  country,  where  he 
many  years  exercised  the  ofiice  of  Alcalde,  or  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  district;  but  resigning  it  on  account  of  his  in- 
creasing age,  he  has  been  succeeded  by  his  neighbour, 
Capt.  Robert  Percy,  formerly  of  the  British  navy,  a  gentle- 
man perfectly  well  qualified  to  execute  the  office  with  be- 
coming dignity  and  propriety. 

I  remained  three  days  with  Mr.  O'Connor,  at  his  friendly 
solicitation,  visited  by,  and  visiting  the  neighbouring  gentry 
of  this  rich  and  hospitable  country,  during  which  time  a 
laughable  incident  happened. 

Accompanying  Mr.  O'Connor  to  Capt.  Percy's,  a  dis- 
tance of  only  two  miles,  through  the  lands  of  the  two  gen- 
tlemen, Mr.  O'C.  conducted  me  through  the  woods  by  a 
bridle  path,  instead  of  keeping  the  main  road,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seeing  some  of  his  people,  who  were  sawing  timber. 
After  riding  in  different  [305]  directions  for  some  time 
without  finding  them,  he  at  last  gave  up  the  attempt,  sa)dng 
we  would  now  take  a  path  which  would  soon  bring  us  into 
the  road.  The  sun  being  overcast,  the  old  gentleman  soon 
lost  his  direction  in  a  labyrinth  of  cattle  paths,  by  which 
we  got  involved  sometimes  in  a  thick  cane  brake,  and 
sometimes  in  a  copse  of  briars.  I  saw  he  was  astray,  but 
without  seeming  to  perceive  it,  I  followed  him,  chattering 
on  indifferent  subjects.  At  last  despair  of  extricating  us 
conquering  his  shame  of  acknowledging  himself  lost  in  his 
own  woods  —  he  suddenly  exclaimed,  ''Where  is  your 
pocket  compass?" — I  answered  that  accompanying  him 
so  short  a  distance  on  his  own  ground,  I  had  not  thought  it 
necessary  to  bring  it.  ''You  should  always  carry  it  in  this 
country,"  exclaimed  he,  a  little  pettishly.     "What  course 


334  Fidrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

do  you  wish  to  go?"  said  I  —  "N.  E."  replied  he,  "ought 
to  bring  us  into  the  main  road." — "Well,"  said  I, 
"let  us  leave  the  mossy  side  of  the  trees  on  our  left 
shoulder.' ' 

Following  my  advice,  we  soon  heard  some  one  at  a  dis- 
tance singing  loudly.  We  took  the  direction  of  the  voice, 
and  soon  afterwards  found  the  wagon  road,  after  wandering 
above  two  hours  in  search  of  it.  Mr.  O'Connor's  relating 
the  story  good  humouredly  at  Capt.  Percy's  did  not  pre- 
vent his  being  rallied  a  good  deal  about  it,  and  it  spreading, 
became  a  standing  subject  of  laugh  against  him,  among 
his  surrounding  friends.  The  day  after  this,  as  I  was 
accompanying  Mr.  O'C.  and  some  of  his  neighbours  to  a 
militia  muster,  my  horse  took  fright,  at  my  suddenly  raising 
my  umbrella  during  a  shower,  and  plunging  violently,  he 
threw  me  on  my  head,  but  without  doing  me  any  other  injury 
than  dirtying  me  all  over. 

On  Thursday,  ist  September,  I  left  Mr.  O'Connor's  after 
breakfast,  with  the  intention  of  pursuing  my  journey,  but 
calling  at  Capt.  Percy's,  he  said  it  was  his  birth  day,  and 
that  I  must  spend  it  with  him,  [306]  and  that  he  had  sent 
for  Mr.  O'C.  for  the  same  purpose. 

This  was  truly  an  agreeable  day  to  me,  it  being  devoted 
to  social  converse  without  ceremony,  while  the  well  regulated 
and  liberal  domestick  arrangements  of  the  amiable  and  well 
informed  lady  of  our  friendly  host,  recalled  to  my  mind 
the  elegant  refinement  I  had  so  often  enjoyed  in  the  society 
of  her  fair  countrywomen,  during  my  residence  in  Scot- 
land. To  her  engaging  native  manners,  Mrs.  Percy  adds 
the  advantages  of  a  long  residence  in  London,  where  she 
seems  to  have  grafted  on  her  native  stock,  such  exotick 
knowledge  only,  as  could  farther  expand  a  mind,  already 
adorned  both  by  nature  and  art. 

Next  day,  Friday,  2d  September,  my  worthy  host  and 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  335 

hostess,  after  exacting  a  promise  from  me,  that  I  should  make 
their  house  my  family's  home,  until  fully  provided  in  one 
myself,  should  I  choose  that  part  of  the  country  for  my 
future  place  of  residence,  accompanied  me  on  my  way, 
fording  Bayau  Sarah,  which  is  about  thirty  yards  wide,  to 
the  plantation  of  Mr.  Sweezey,  a  mile  distant,  where  a  child 
being  dangerously  ill  of  a  fever,  Mrs.  Percy  had  for  several 
days  before,  and  even  nights,  aided  the  disconsolate  mother 
in  the  duties  of  nursing,  while  her  humane  and  friendly 
husband  prescribed  and  dispensed  the  necessary  medicine 
in  the  absence  of  the  physician  —  none  living  nearer  than 
six  or  eight  miles.  Indeed  he  adds  the  gratuitous  practice 
of  physician  and  apothecary  to  the  office  of  chief  magistrate, 
and  he  is  equally  useful  in  each  department  to  the  surround- 
ing country,  while  his  amiable  lady  performs  the  part  of  a 
real  Lady  Bountiful,  with  judgement  and  true  benevo- 
lence. 

Capt.  Percy  rode  with  me  about  five  miles  farther,  to  shew 
me  a  tract  of  land  he  had  in  his  disposal,  on  which  he  wished 
me  to  settle,  and  another,  the  property  of  Mr.  Cochran  of 
Bayau  Pierre,  which  had  [307]  been  offered  for  sale.  He 
then  bade  me  adieu,  and  I  went  on  alone,  passing  Mr. 
Sterling's  and  doctor  Bruin's,  and  proceeding  to  the  south- 
ward four  miles  farther,  I  arrived  and  stopped  at  doctor 
Flowers's. 

The  doctor  was  absent,  but  Mrs.  Flowers  did  the  honours 
of  her  house  to  me,  with  the  most  pleasing  attention,  and  he 
returning  home  in  the  evening  confirmed  the  kind  welcome 
I  had  received,  and  to  which  I  was  in  no  other  way  entitled 
than,  in  addition  to  my  being  a  stranger  (which  about 
Bayau  Sarah  seems  to  be  a  general  passport  to  hospitality) 
I  had  a  letter  of  introduction  from  my  valuable  and  respected 
friend,  judge  Bruin,  whose  name,  where  he  is  known,  opens 
every  door. 


336  EaHy  Western  Travels  [V0L4 

The  next  two  days  were  spsaaX  chkfly  at  doctor  Flowers's, 
and  in  riding  about  the  n^^booring  country,  during  which 
I  lisited  Mr.  WHliam  Barrow,  who  has  a  very  handscHne 
hoQse,  a  nohk  plantatkxi  of  about  four  hundred  acres  of 
cotton  all  in  one  fidd,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  n^;ioes.  I 
also  afTompanied  the  doctcH-  to  pay  my  complimoits  to 
Don  Thomas  Estevan,  latdy  appointed  commandant  of 
New  FHiriana,  with  full  powers  to  act  for  the  govemour. 
He  leuaved  me  very  politdy.  and  appeared  to  be  a  man  c^ 
[ilrasiiis  niMMifis>  and  good  general  information,  although 
I  Has  MitiMHwl  diat  he  had  risen  from  the  rank  of  a  private 
in  die  army,  to  his  present  situati(Hi.  That,  lK)weYer,  is  a 
very  mnrnmn  thing  in  the  Spani^  service,  where  merit 
is  sore  dt  being  rewarded,  without  the  aid  of  money  or 
great  mnnexinns,  notwithstanding  the  character  for  pride 
whidi  diat  nation  is  taxed  with."' 

On  Monday,  the  5th  September,  I  prcxreeded  on  my 
tour,  crosgng  Alexander's  creek,  an  inconsiderate  stream, 
and  having  a  good  road  to  the  eastward,  through  a  forest 
alwinfMling  with  that  beautiful  and  majestick  evergreen,  the 
magimHa  at  American  laurd,  six  or  seven  miles  to  Mr. 
Pemei's.  He  was  [308]  absent  until  supper  time,  previous 
to  which  I  amused  mysdf  with  walking  about  his  fine  plan- 
tation, and  the  best  garden  I  had  yet  seen  in  this  country. 
A  letter  frcHn  doctor  Flowers  insured  me  a  friendly  recepticm, 
and  I  passed  the  night  here. 


**  The  pnNiKB  of  Wot  Florida  «■>  xtded  dnqg  &e  Briti*  omipatinw 

aad  Seotdk  tmigBmt%.    Fefiona  was  doc  erected  into  a. 

■Bciv  %■(  ^BdiK  Ac  SpMH^k  B^^HK  vas  ■hmIc  a  dMtiict  skbonlBflle  to  Ae 

'  off  tihe  yoke  of  Sfia,  lad  <fe> 

Itof 

trfdKfcliiii— EPl  ' 


1807-1809]  Cuming^ s  Tour  to  the  West  337 

Mr.  Perrie  is  a  native  of  Fifeshire  in  Scotland,  was  a  mill- 
wright, by  which  profession,  aided  by  an  advantageous 
matrimonial  connexion,  he  now  possesses  a  hundred  negroes, 
and  is  alcalde  of  the  quarter  —  yet  he  would  gladly  remove 
to  the  land  of  his  nativity,  if  he  could  do  it  conveniently. 

Tuesday  6th,  a  good  road  through  open  woods  brought 
me  in  six  miles  to  Doyle's,  from  whence,  fording  Thomp- 
son's creek,  (a  fine  little  river  sixty  yards  wide)  I  stopped  at 
Horton's  tavern,  on  the  opposite  side.  Mr.  Murdoch,  the 
proprietor,  from  whom  Horton  rents  the  house  and  adjoining 
plantation,  but  who  reserves  a  room  for  himself,  having 
seen  me  at  Mr.  O'Connor's,  politely  asked  me  to  stay 
breakfast,  after  which  I  proceeded. 

All  the  tract  of  country  from  Pinckneyville  to  near  Thomp- 
son's creek,  being  watered  by  Bayau  Sarah,  or  some  of  its 
tributary  streams,  is  most  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Bayau  Sarah  settlements,  and  is  part  in  the  United 
States  and  part  in  the  Spanish  territory.  It  is  esteemed  as 
the  finest  soil,  the  best  cultivated,  and  inhabited  by  the 
most  wealthy  settlers,  of  any  part  of  the  Mississippi  territory 
or  West  Florida,  but  the  land  appeared  to  be  liable  to  have 
its  soil  washed  away,  so  as  to  lose  it  entirely  in  a  few  3rears 
after  clearing  it,  on  all  the  declivities.  It  is  on  the  whole 
however,  a  charming  country. 

My  road  now  led  through  a  thick  wood,  much  impeded 
by  copse  and  briers,  and  it  being  a  dead  flat,  the  whole 
of  it  was  a  complete  slough,  in  some  places  deep  enough  to 
mire  my  horse  to  the  saddle  skirts  for  several  himdred  yards 
together,  so  that  I  made  slow  progress,  for  the  first  six  mUes, 
in  an  easterly  [309]  direction,  which  had  been  the  course  of 
the  road  from  doctor  Flowers's. 

I  met  a  man  on  foot,  of  a  very  suspicious  appearance, 
laboiuing  through  the  mire.  He  was  a  stout  active  fellow, 
very  ragged,  and  his  face  disfigured  by  a  large  scar  across  his 


338  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

mouth.  I  passed  him  however  peaceably,  and  soon  after 
leaving  a  Mr.  Carter's  plantation  on  the  right,  I  entered 
the  most  beautiful  plain  I  had  seen  in  this  country.  It  was  a 
savanna  or  prairie,  about  six  miles  long,  and  from  half  a 
mile  to  a  mile  wide,  skirted  by  woods,  and  a  few  plantations, 
and  abounding  with  clumps  of  oak,  ash,  mulberry,  poplar 
and  other  indigenous  trees,  affording  between  them  beau- 
tiful vistas  of  various  character,  while  large  herds  of  cattle 
and  horses  appeared  here  and  there,  to  enliven  the  scene, 
which  had  additional  interest  from  two  men  galloping  after 
and  noosing  some  wild  horses. 

I  stopped  and  dined  at  the  house  of  Richard  Dewal,  esq. 
on  the  plain.  Mr.  Dewal  is  an  Englishman,  and  alcalde 
of  the  quarter.  He  was  absent,  but  Mrs.  Dewal  received 
me  with  politeness  and  hospitality. 

Leaving  the  plain,  the  road  soon  became  as  bad  as  possible, 
to  be  capable  of  being  travelled.  Three  and  a  half  miles 
of  it  brought  me  to  Droghen's  plantation  in  a  wretched 
solitude,  from  whence  I  had  five  miles  farther  of  equally  bad 
road,  without  an  inhabitant  to  Fridges,  a  Scotchman.  In 
the  next  three  miles  I  passed  three  plantations,  and  then 
came  to  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi  at  Mrs.  O'Brien's  very 
pleasantly  situated  farm,  from  whence  is  a  view  down  the 
river  past  Montesano  to  Baton  Rouge. 

A  mile  farther,  parallel  to  the  river  bank,  brought  me  to 
Montesano.  This  has  been  lately  laid  out  for  a  town  by 
Mr.  Wm.  Herreis  from  London,  who  is  the  proprietor,  but 
I  do  not  think  he  will  succeed  in  his  plan,  as  the  country 
around  is  not  sufficiently  inhabited  to  support  a  town,  and 
besides  it  is  too  near  [310]  to  Baton  Rouge,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, of  the  western  division  of  West  Florida.  There  is  some 
prospect  of  his  succeeding  better  in  a  saw  and  grist  mill  he 
is  erecting,  which  is  to  be  wrought  by  steam.  It  is  on  a 
large  scale,  and  a  vast  deal  of  money  has  already  been  laid 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  339 

out  on  it  (I  have  been  informed,  upwards  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars)  yet  it  does  not  seem  to  be  in  great  forwardness."^ 

It  is  called  only  four  miles  from  hence  to  Baton  Rouge, 
but  the  badness  of  the  road  made  me  think  it  eight,  perhaps 
six  may  be  the  true  distance.  I  passed  some  small  neglected 
French  plantations  on  the  left  on  the  summit  of  a  range  of 
low  hills,  which  extend  from  Montesano,  while  on  the  right 
I  had  a  swamp,  out  of  which  the  cypress  has  been  cut, 
between  me  and  the  river,  the  road  being  very  bad,  through 
a  natural  savanna  of  coarse  grass,  intersected  by  deep 
ravines,  and  miry  sloughs. 

CHAPTER  LIII 

Baton  Rouge  —  Gumbo  —  An  Irish-French-Spaniard  — 
The  govemour  —  Mrs.  O'Brien's  —  Journey  on  return  — 
An  American  camp  —  Extensive  prospect  —  Tomlinson's. 

Arriving  at  Baton  Rouge,  on  enquiry  I  was  informed  that 
Madame  Le  Gendre's  was  the  [311]  most  respectable 
auberge,  I  accordingly  stopt  there,  and  found  a  number 
of  genteel  men.  Frenchmen,  Spaniards,  English  and  Ameri- 
cans, with  about  a  dozen  of  whom  I  sat  down  to  supper, 
quite  a  la  Francaise.  The  table  was  well  covered  with 
different  made  dishes,  and  a  variety  of  vegetal^les,  among 
which  the  most  conspicuous,  was  a  large  dish  of  gumbo, 
served  by  the  hostess  at  the  head,  which  seemed  to  be  a 
standing  dish,  and  much  in  repute,  as  almost  every  one  was 
helped  to  it.  It  is  made  by  boiling  ocroc  until  it  is  tender, 
and  seasoning  it  with  a  little  bit  of  fat  bacon.    It  then  becomes 

^'  It  may  be  observed  here  that  the  steam  power  used  by  Mr.  Herreis  (as  I  am 
informed)  is  on  the  English  principle,  which  is  said  to  cost  much  more  than  the 
improved  steam  power  by  Oliver  Evans,  of  Philadelphia  which  costs  for  a  thirty 
horse  power  about  three  thousand  dollars.  It  is  said  that  a  Mr.  Cohoon,  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  has  even  simplified  Mr.  Evans's  steam  principle,  so  much  that 
a  thirty  horse  power  will  not  cost  more  than  twelve  hundred  dollars  for  its  complete 
erection. —  Cramek. 


340  E,arly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

so  ropy  and  slimy  as  to  make  it  difficult  with  either  knife, 
spoon  or  fork,  to  carry  it  to  the  mouth,  without  the  plate 
and  mouth  being  connected  by  a  long  string,  so  that  it  is  a 
most  awkward  dish  to  a  stranger,  who  besides,  seldom 
relishes  it,  but  it  is  a  standing  dish  among  the  French  Creoles, 
as  much  as  soup  and  bouilli  is  in  France,  or  the  olla  in 
Spain. 

A  bed  was  prepared  for  me  in  the  front  gallery  or  piazza, 
where  Madame  Le  Gendre  assured  me  I  should  be  less 
troubled  with  musquitoes  than  in  the  interior  of  the  house, 
and  that  I  should  also  find  it  more  cool  and  agreeable.  I 
mention  this  as  a  trait  of  French  character,  particularly 
the  female,  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  to  turn  even 
their  inconveniences  to  advantage,  for  notwithstanding  her 
assertion  that  it  was  solely  'pour  V accommodation  de  Mons. 
VEtr anger,  had  there  been  any  other  place  for  a  bed  in  her 
small  house,  one  would  not  have  been  prepared  for  me  in 
the  gallery.  The  musquitoes  were  sufficiently  ennuyants  to 
make  me  rejoice  at  perceiving  the  first  dawn  of  day,  when  I 
hurried  on  my  clothes,  and  sallied  out  to  view  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  western  division  of  West  Florida."' 

About  half  a  dozen  tolerably  good  frame  (or  wooden) 
houses  scattered  on  an  extensive  plain  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  woods  at  a  little  distance,  first  [312]  made  their  ap- 
pearance, while  a  dirty  little  town  of  60  cabins  crouded  to- 
gether in  a  narrow  street  on  the  river  bank,  penned  in  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  a  low  steep  hill  descending  from 


"•  The  name  Baton  Rouge  (Red  Stick)  is  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from 
a  tall  cypress  tree,  which,  having  been  stripped  by  the  lightning  to  its  red  wood, 
formed  a  prominent  landmark.  The  town  was  first  settled  by  the  French  about 
1720,  but  remained  an  inconsiderable  hamlet,  even  after  the  accession  of  eighty 
Acadians  (about  1730).  The  British,  while  in  control  of  West  Florida,  built  a  fort 
and  established  a  garrison  here,  which  was  surrendered  by  Colonel  Dickson  to  the 
victorious  Spanish  under  Galvez,  in  1779.  Baton  Rouge  was  incorporated  as 
an  American  town  in  1817,  and  became  the  capital  of  Louisiana  in  1850. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  341 

the  plain,  filled  up  the  fourth  side.  I  walked  through  the 
village  —  it  is  a  right  French  one  —  almost  every  other 
house  being  a  petty  shop  for  the  sale  of  bread,  tobacco, 
pumpkins  and  taffia  (or  bad  rum)  distilled  at  the  sugar 
plantations  a  little  lower  down  the  river.  It  is  matter 
of  astonishment  how  so  many  shops  of  the  same  kind  find 
customers.  I  observed  two  tolerably  well  assorted  stores, 
one  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  the  other  by  Mr.  Egan,  an 
Irishman,  to  whom  I  carried  an  introductory  letter  from  Mr. 
O'Connor,  which  ensured  me  a  friendly  and  hospitable 
welcome. 

I  breakfasted  with  him,  and  then  went  to  view  the  fort 
on  the  plain  above  the  north  end  of  the  town.  It  is  a  regular 
square  with  four  small  bastions  at  the  angles.  The  ram- 
parts are  composed  of  earth  thrown  up  out  of  a  small  dry 
ditch  or  fosse  which  surrounds  it,  and  are  crowned  by  a 
stoccade  of  pickets.  A  few  small  guns  mounted,  point  to 
the  different  approaches,  and  also  command  the  river,  but 
it  is  a  work  of  very  little  strength,  and  not  capable  of  much 
defence  against  a  prepared  enemy. 

I  returned  to  my  friend  Egan's,  who  accompanied  me  to 
the  house  of  Don  Gilbert  Leonard,  the  contador  (or  col- 
lector) to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction.  The  affecta- 
tion of  importance  which  this  gentleman  attached  to  his 
offer  of  accompanying  me  to  government  house,  as  soon 
as  his  excellency  the  governour  should  be  visible,  was  matter 
of  amusement  to  me,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  see  less 
ceremony  observed  in  introductions  to  men  of  infinitely 
greater  importance.  He  excused  himself  from  asking  me 
to  dine  with  him,  as  he  said  his  family  were  all  indisposed, 
but  any  other  time  that  I  should  be  in  Baton  Rouge,  he 
hoped  to  have  that  pleasure.  He  promised  [313]  to  call 
on  me  about  eleven  o'clock  at  Mr.  Egan's,  as  soon  as  he 
had  made  himself  up  for  a  visit  to  the  governour,  and  he 


342  Fjurly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

begged  leave  to  retire  to  dress,  although  the  changing  of  a 
silk  morning  or  dressing  gown  for  a  coat,  was  all  that  was 
necessary,  he  having  evidently  bestowed  some  time  on  his 
person  just  before  our  arrival. 

During  the  short  time  we  remained  at  his  house,  Don 
Gilbert  led  the  discourse  to  the  politicks  of  the  day,  repro- 
bating in  most  warm  terms,  the  folly  of  the  Spaniards  for 
endeavouring  to  emancipate  themselves  from  the  chains  of 
Napoleon  —  ascribing  it  to  their  being  instigated  to  it  by 
the  artifices  of  that  enemy  of  mankind  Britain^  to  which 
country  he  declared  himself  a  sworn  enemy.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  all  this  opinionated  and  ill  informed  self 
consequence,  proceeded  from  a  son  of  Irish  parents,  who 
had  arisen  to  his  present  station  in  a  Spanish  provincial 
government,  from  an  obscure  situation  in  life,  by  a  chain 
of  fortuitous  circumstances.  As  he  had  volunteered  him- 
self to  be  my  Ciceroni  to  the  govemour,  I  awaited  him  at 
Mr.  Egan's  some  time  later  than  the  appointed  hour,  which 
tardiness  was  of  course  to  give  the  visit  additional  conse- 
quence. We  at  last  proceeded  together,  and  not  finding  the 
govemour  at  home,  I  told  him,  I  would  put  him  to  no 
farther  trouble,  but  would  myself  wait  upon  his  excellency 
on  his  return  from  his  promenade. —  He  made  his  bow,  and 
I  was  again  a  free  man. 

About  one  o'clock,  I  found  the  govemour,  Don  Carlos  de 
Grandpr^  at  home.  He  gave  me  a  polite  reception,  and 
while  his  written  permission  to  remain  six  months  in  the 
country  (a  ceremony  all  strangers  are  obliged  to  go  through, 
previous  to  making  a  permanent  settlement)  was  preparing, 
he  entered  into  a  conversation  on  agricultural  topicks,  and 
appearedfto  be  a  well  informed,  and  well  bred  man.  He 
avoided  touching  on  politicks,  but  Don  Gilbert's  sentiments 
on  [314]  that  subject  are  supposed  to  be  his,  he  being  a 
native  of  France,  and  of  course  naturally  partial  to  his 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  343 

country,  whether  ruled  by  a  Capet,  by  a  mob,  or  by  a 
Napoleon."^ 

After  a  friendly  and  unceremonious  dinner  with  Mr.  Egan, 
I  left  Baton  Rouge  on  my  return,  not  having  any  curiosity 
to  explore  any  more  of  the  country  than  I  had  hitherto  seen, 
the  cream  of  which  I  considered  to  be  the  Bayau  Sarah  set- 
tlements. 

Returning  again  through  Montesano,  I  arrived  at  Mrs. 
O'Brien's  a  little  before  dark.  It  being  too  late  to  proceed 
any  farther  that  night,  I  stopped  and  requested  room  for 
myself  and  horse  until  morning.  My  request  was  complied 
with  according  to  the  general  custom  of  the  country,  but  in 
such  polite  terms,  and  it  introduced  me  to  so  agreeable  a 
society  at  supper,  that  I  congratulated  myself  for  not  having 
had  time  to  go  farther.  The  family  consisted  of  Mrs. 
O'Brien  herself,  and  her  daughters  Mrs.  Flood,  wife  of 
doctor  Flood  of  New  Orleans,  Mrs.  Saunders,  and  Miss 
O'Brien.  Two  gentlemen  from  Orleans  joined  us  after 
supper,  which  was  an  additional  motive  for  self-congratula- 
tion. As  they  were  travelling  my  road.  They  as  well  as 
me  were  strangers  to  Mrs.  O'B. 

It  is  impossible  to  travel  in  any  part  of  this  new  country 
after  dark,  as  the  roads  are  only  bridle  paths,  which  are  so 

"^  Don  Carlos  de  Grandpr^  was  a  Frenchman,  who  held  important  positions 
in  the  Spanish  service.  In  1779,  he  aided  Galvez  in  his  capture  of  British  Florida, 
and  was  left  by  the  latter  in  command  of  the  fort  at  Baton  Rouge.  In  1788,  he 
commanded  the  Natchez  district,  but  made  himself  unpopular  to  the  American 
inhabitants,  whereupon  he  was  superseded  by  Gayoso  de  Lemos.  Upon  the  latter's 
promotion  to  the  governorship  of  Louisiana,  Grandpr6  was  again  detailed  for 
Natchez;  but  on  account  of  the  protests  of  the  inhabitants,  was  removed  in  favor  of 
Minor.  When  Louisiana  was  transferred  to  the  United  States,  Grandpr^  was 
commandant  at  Baton  Rouge.  The  American  inhabitants  of  this  district  began  a 
revolt,  which  Grandpr6  severely  repressed.  Upon  the  successful  revolt  of  the  same 
province  in  1810,  a  son  of  the  commandant  was  killed  while  defending  the  post  of 
Baton  Rouge.  During  the  British  advance  against  New  Orleans,  Grandpr6  sided 
with  his  former  enemies,  and  boarded  one  of  their  warships.  His  later  history 
is  unknown. —  Ed. 


344  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

darkened  by  the  woods  through  which  they  lead,  that  the 
adventurous  traveller  must  inevitably  lose  himself. 

On  Thursday,  8th  September,  I  proceeded  with  my  two 
companions  before  the  family  were  stirring,  and  we  arrived 
at  Mr.  Duwal's  on  the  Great  Prairie,  time  enough  to  sit 
down  with  the  family  to  breakfast.  We  afterwards  stopped 
to  bait  at  Mr.  Carters,  and  then  went  on  cross  Thompson's 
creek  to  Mr.  Perry's,  where  we  found  Messrs.  Duncan  and 
Gamble,  lawyers  from  New  Orleans,  at  dinner.  Chairs 
were  placed  for  us  of  course,  and  after  partaking  of  Mr. 
Perry's  hospitable  [315]  meal,  I  went  on  to  doctor  Flowers's 
—  separating  from  my  companions,  who  had  each  different 
friends  to  visit  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Next  day,  the  9th  September,  I  went  to  Capt.  Percy's 
to  dinner,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  that  day  and  night 
there,  and  on  the  loth,  after  dining  at  Mr.  O'Connor's  I 
retraced  my  journey  across  the  line  into  the  Mississippi 
Territory,  and  passing  through  Pinckneyville,  I  entered 
Capt.  Semple's  plantation,  and  rode  nearly  two  miles  through 
it  before  I  came  to  the  house  of  the  proprietor  —  passing 
in  the  way  two  different  negro  quarters,  and  the  whole 
road  resembling  several  I  have  known  through  the  demesnes 
of  the  nobility  in  Europe,  in  its  variety  —  through  woods, 
lawns,  pastures  and  cultivated  fields,  on  the  whole  the  most 
beautiful  plantation  to  ride  through  of  any  I  had  hitherto 
seen  in  this  western  country. 

I  had  to  regret  the  absence  of  my  hospitable  host  and 
hostess,  who  were  on  a  visit  at  Mrs.  Trumbull's,  Mrs. 
Semple's  mother.  I  was  however  well  taken  care  of  —  and 
proceeding  next  morning,  I  deviated  a  little  from  the  road 
to  visit  the  camp.  As  I  approached  it  I  met  several  negroes 
returning  home  from  a  market  which  is  kept  there  every 
Sunday  morning.  On  my  arrival  I  was  much  surprised 
with  a  village,  differing  from  any  I  had  ever  before  seen. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  345 

Twenty-four  large  huts  faced  a  wide  open  space  cleared 
for  a  parade,  in  front  of  which  is  held  the  market.  In  the 
rear  of  these,  with  a  narrow  street  between,  are  ten  very 
snug  and  well  furnished  cottages,  appropriated  for  the 
officers,  who  reside  in  them,  some  with  their  families,  and 
some  en  gargon.  But  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  is 
that  the  whole  camp  is  constructed  with  cane  (the  large 
reed)  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  every  dwelling  perfectly 
tight  and  warm.  They  are  all  floored  with  plank,  and  the 
officers'  quarters  are  glazed,  and  have  each  a  little  [316] 
garden;  and  there  runs  through  the  whole  an  air  of  neatness, 
propriety,  and  cleanliness,  that  I  have  seldom  seen  surpassed. 
The  situation  is  on  the  slope  of  a  very  high  hill,  and  the 
whole  country  for  some  miles  round,  particularly  towards 
the  Mississippi,  is  nothing  but  a  continuation  of  steep  and 
broken  hills,  covered  with  forest  timber,  and  an  impene- 
trable cane  brake,  except  in  a  few  places,  where  some  ad- 
venturous settler  has  found  a  small  spot,  not  too  steep  for 
the  plough,  or  where  narrow  paths  of  communication  have 
been  cut  through  the  canes. 

Having  gratified  my  curiosity  with  a  view  of  this  little 
encampment,  I  went  on  to  Wilkinsonburg,  and  spent  the 
rest  of  the  day  with  my  friend  H . 

On  Monday,  the  12th  September,  proceeding  at  early 
dawn,  I  took  a  wrong  trace  about  five  miles  from  Fort 
Adams,  by  which  I  was  taken  two  or  three  miles  out  of  my 
road,  but  coming  to  a  plantation,  I  had  some  compensation 
made  me  for  my  egarement,  by  receiviag  directions  for 
another  road  to  Buffaloe  creek,  by  which  I  cut  off  five 
miles,  with  the  additional  satisfaction  of  having  only  eight 
mUes  without  a  house,  instead  of  twelve  by  the  main  road. 
I  had  hills  on  my  right  hand,  covered  with  the  usual  variety 
of  forest  trees,  and  a  thick  cane  brake  underneath,  while  on 
my  left,  a  gloomy  and  malignant  swamp  extended  to  the 


34^  "Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

Mississippi,  some  miles  distant.  I  breakfasted  at  Smith's 
who  keeps  a  tavern,  and  a  ferry  over  BufEaloe  creek,  three 
miles  below  the  toll  bridge  on  the  other  road.  I  had  three 
short  miles  of  a  bad  and  miry  road  to  Ellis's  plantation,  and 
four  from  thence  along  a  ridge  to  major  Davis's,  where  I 
again  came  into  the  main  road.  A  mile  farther  brought 
me  to  Big  Jude's,  a  free  negro  woman,  settled  on  one  side 
of  a  broken  plain,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  plantation 
at  some  distant  period  back,  but  by  the  washing  away  of 
the  soil,  it  now  only  affords  nourishment  to  a  short  herbage, 
[317]  seemingly  very  proper  for  sheep.  From  hence  is  a 
very  extensive  view  over  the  surrounding  forests  —  in  which 
far  to  the  westward  may  be  seen  a  line  formed  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi, making  a  great  curve  that  way.  Ellis's  heights 
and  the  chain  of  hills  running  from  thence  to  the  eastward 
of  Natchez  terminate  the  view  to  the  northward,  while 
Loftus's  heights  do  the  same  to  the  southward.  Extensive 
prospects  occur  so  rarely  in  this  country  of  forests,  that  when 
a  traveller  happens  to  meet  with  one,  he  feels  wonderfully 
cheered,  although  he  sees  nothing  but  a  horizon  of  woods, 
which,  particularly  when  without  their  leaf,  in  the  winter 
season,  have  a  very  sombre  and  gloomy  appearance,  a  little 
inequality  of  horizon  where  a  hill  happens  to  bound  the 
view,  being  the  only  variety;  but  after  emerging  from  the 
thick  forests  and  cane  brakes,  in  which  he  has  been  long 
buried,  he  feels  an  expansion  of  the  whole  system  which 
is  extremely  pleasing. 

The  road  is  hilly  but  good,  through  a  pleasant  wood, 
chiefly  of  that  superb  tree  the  magnolia  or  American  laurel, 
clear  of  underwood  and  cane,  and  passing  several  small 
plantations  four  or  five  miles  from  Jude's  to  the  Homochito. 

Being  ferried  across  that  charming  little  river,  I  had  a 
good  road  through  a  pleasant  country  tolerably  well  settled 
five  miles  to  Mr.  Tomlinson's.    I  had  a  letter  to  him  from 


1807-1809]  Cuming  s  Tour  to  the  West  347 

my  friend  H ,  which  was  no  sooner  delivered,  than  both 

he  and  Mrs.  T.  vied  with  each  other  in  their  friendly  atten- 
tions to  me.  They  insisted  on  my  not  going  farther  that 
night,  and  manifested  the  greatest  friendship  for  the  writer 
of  my  introductory  letter,  by  the  warmth  and  kindness  of 
their  hospitality  to  me. 

[318]    CHAPTER  LIV 

Return  to  the  northward  through  Natchez,  Greenville  and 
Port  Gibson  —  Bayau  Pierre  —  General  remarks  on  cli- 
mate, soil,  water,  face  of  the  country,  manners,  produc- 
tions, &c. 

On  Tuesday,  13th  September,  I  set  out  early,  after  re- 
turning thanks  to  my  kind  host  and  hostess.  At  two  miles 
I  passed  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  on  the  right;  one  mile  farther, 
Mr.  Abner  Green's  on  the  left;  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
beyond  which,  I  left  Mr.  Poindexter's,  member  of  congress 
from  this  territory,  on  the  right. 

I  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  Mr.  Dunbar's  —  some- 
times known  and  addressed  by  the  title  of  Sir  William 
Dunbar,  I  know  not  on  what  foundation.  He  is  a  native 
of  Scotland  —  is  a  gentleman  of  literature  and  philosophi- 
cal research  —  is  esteemed  rich  —  and  occupies  one  of  the 
most  tasty  and  best  furnished  cottages  I  have  seen  in  the 
territory. 

Passing  three  or  four  other  large  plantations  in  sight 
of  the  road,  six  miles  more  brought  me  to  St.  Catharine's 
creek,  now  an  inconsiderable  brook,  but  in  floods  an  im- 
passable torrent;  crossing  which  I  had  two  miles  and  a  half 
to  Col.  William  Scott's,  where  I  stopped  and  dined  with 
Mrs.  Scott,  the  Col.  being  from  home. 

After  dinner,  taking  the  road  through  Natchez,  I  went 
to  Mr.  Blennerhasset's,  where  I  supped  and  slept. 

Wednesday,    14th,   after   breakfast,    Mr.    Blennerhasset 


348  Fidrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

accompanied  me  to  Natchez,  where  we  made  a  few  visits, 
in  doing  which  we  called  on  Mr.  Evans,  whose  niece,  Mrs. 
Wallace,  a  young  and  gay  widow,  and  his  eldest  daughter, 
favoured  us  with  a  few  tunes  on  an  organ,  built  for  him  by 
one  Hurdis,  an  English  musical  instrument  maker  and 
teacher  of  musick,  [319]  then  residing  in  Natchez.  The 
instrument  was  tolerably  good,  and  ought  to  be  so,  as  it  has 
cost  one  thousand  dollars. 

I  returned  home  with  Mr.  Blennerhasset,  and  next  morn- 
ing very  early,  proceeded  through  Washington,  Sulserstown 
and  Union  town  to  Greenville,  and  from  thence  by  a  toler- 
ably good  road,  in  a  northerly  direction,  twelve  miles  to 
Trimble's  tavern,  where  I  put  up  for  the  night.  I  was 
much  impeded  in  my  progress  for  the  last  two  miles,  by  the 
effects  of  a  hurricane,  which  had  happened  about  a  year 
before,  and  which  had  blown  down  by  the  roots,  or  broken 
off  the  tops  of  all  the  trees  in  its  way  —  levelling  every 
cabin  and  fence  that  opposed  its  passage,  but  like  the  gener- 
ality of  the  hurricanes  (which  happen  frequently  in  this 
climate  and  always  from  the  westward)  not  exceeding  half 
a  mile  in  breadth.  Trimble's  family  had  like  to  have  been 
buried  under  the  ruins  of  their  cabin,  not  having  had  over 
a  minute  to  escape  to  the  outside,  and  throw  themselves 
flat  on  the  ground,  when  it  was  blown  down.  Those  gusts 
are  very  tremendous,  being  always  accompanied  by  thunder, 
lightning,  and  torrents  of  rain,  but  from  running  in  such 
narrow  veins,  they  are  very  partial,  and  therefore  not  so 
much  dreaded  as  those  general  ones  which  sometimes 
devastate  the  West  India  islands. 

Next  day  I  proceeded  nine  miles  in  a  northerly  direction 
to  Port  Gibson,  on  a  western  branch  of  the  Bayau  Pierre. 
This  little  town  of  twenty  houses  is  the  capital  of  Claiborne 
county,  and  is  esteemed  the  most  thriving  place  in  the  terri- 
tory, notwithstanding  it  is  extremely  unhealthy,  from  the 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  349 

proximity  of  some  stagnant  ponds,  and  the  annual  inun- 
dation of  the  Mississippi,  which  swells  Bayau  Pierre  and 
causes  it  to  stagnate  for  from  four  to  six  months,  every 
year.  The  ponds  might  be  drained,  were  the  inhabitants 
not  so  entirely  occupied  by  business  and  [320]  pleasure,  to 
which  two  pursuits  they  devote  the  whole  of  their  time. 

It  is  thirty  miles  from  Port  Gibson  to  the  Mississippi, 
following  the  windings  of  the  Bayau  Pierre,  through  a  very 
hilly  and  broken  country,  but  it  is  only  fourteen  miles  by  the 
road.  As  when  the  waters  are  up  the  bayau  is  navigable 
for  large  craft,  that  season  is  the  most  bustling  time  in  Port 
Gibson,  the  storekeepers  then  importing  goods  and  export- 
ing cotton.  On  the  subsiding  of  the  waters,  the  sickly 
season  commences,  and  lasts  with  little  variation  from 
July  to  October,  inclusive.  This  is  more  or  less  the  case 
over  the  whole  territory,  particularly  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  swamps  and 
s  agnant  ponds.  The  driest  seasons  are  the  most  unhealthy. 
1  tie  prevaHing  malady  is  a  fever  of  the  intermittent  species, 
sometimes  accompanied  by  ague,  and  sometimes  not.  It  is 
raiely  fatal  in  itself,  but  its  consequences  are  dreadful,  as 
it  frequently  lasts  five  or  six  months  in  defiance  of  medicine, 
and  leaves  the  patient  in  so  relaxed  and  debilitated  a,  state, 
that  he  never  after  regains  the  strength  he  had  lost.  It  also 
frequently  terminates  in  jaundice  or  dropsy,  which  some- 
times prove  fatal. 

All  newcomers  are  subject  to  what  is  called  a  seasoning, 
after  which,  though  they  may  be  annually  attacked  by  this 
scourge  of  the  climate,  it  rarely  confines  them  longer  than  a 
few  days.  Every  house  in  Port  Gibson  is  either  a  store,  a 
tavern,  or  the  workshop  of  a  mechanick.  There  is  a  very 
mean  gaol,  and  an  equally  bad  court-house,  though  both  are 
much  in  use,  particularly  the  latter,  as,  like  the  United  States 
in  general,  the  people  are  fond  of  litigation.  Gambling  is  car- 


350  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

ried  to  the  greatest  excess,  particularly  horse  racing,  cards 
and  betting  —  a  wager  always  deciding  every  difference  of 
opinion.  On  the  whole,  Port  Gibson  and  its  neighbour- 
hood is  [321]  perhaps  the  most  dissolute  as  well  as  the  most 
thriving  part  of  the  territory. 

I  dined  at  my  friend  doctor  Cumming's,"*  who  lives  on 
his  fine  plantation  near  the  town,  and  taking  a  S.  W.  road  of 
thirteen  miles,  I  arrived  in  the  evening  at  Bruinsburg. 

I  shall  here  conclude  my  tour,  with  a  few  general  observa- 
tions. 

The  climate  of  this  territory  is  very  unequal,  between 
excess  of  heat  during  the  principal  part  of  the  year,  when 
the  inhabitants  are  devoured  by  musquitoes,  gnats  and  sand- 
flies, to  excess  of  cold,  in  the  winter  nights  and  mornings, 
when  a  good  fire,  and  plenty  of  warm  woollen  clothing  are 
indispensibly  necessary,  though  the  middle  of  the  day  is 
frequently  warm  enough  for  muslin  and  nankeen  dresses  to 
suffice. 

The  soil  is  as  various  as  the  climate.  The  river  bottonis 
generally,  and  some  of  the  cane  brake  hills,  not  being  ex- 
ceeded for  richness  in  the  world,  while  some  ridges  and 
tracts  of  country  after  being  cleared  and  cultivated  for  a 
few  years,  are  so  exhausted,  as  to  become  almost  barren. 

Water  is  very  partially  distributed  —it  being  scarce, 

***  Dr.  John  Cummins  was  bom  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1780.  Having  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Rush  of  Philadelphia,  he  emigrated  to 
Mississippi  Territory  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  settling  first  at 
Port  Gibson;  later  having  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  Bruin  (1804)  he  removed 
to  the  plantation  on  Bayou  Pierre,  where  Cuming  visited  him.  He  endorsed 
heavily  for  Burr  and  Blennerhassett,  losing  by  them  about  $65,000.  Burr's  maps 
left  in  his  care  are  important  evidence  of  the  destination  of  his  expedition.  Dr. 
Cummins  was  called  to  Richmond  in  order  to  testify  at  the  Burr  trial,  and  after- 
wards attempted  to  recover  some  of  the  money  he  had  lost,  but  with  no  success. 
Removing  to  the  parish  of  Concordia,  Louisiana,  he  lived  the  Ufe  of  a  wealthy 
cultivated  planter  —  being  especially  interested  in  literature  —  until  his  death 
in  1822.  The  details  of  his  history  have  been  kindly  furnished  by  his  granddaughter, 
Mrs.  T.  C.  Wordin,  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  351 

unpleasant,  and  unwholesome,  within  seven  6r  eight  miles 
of  the  Mississippi  —  and  it  being  fine  and  in  abundance 
from  that  to  the  eastward  to  the  pine  woods,  which  generally 
begin  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  distance  from  the 
river. 

The  face  of  the  country  is  also  much  diversified  —  a  dead 
swampy  but  very  rich  level  borders  the  Mississippi  the 
whole  length  of  the  territory  and  West  Florida,  from  the 
Walnut  hills  to  Baton  Rouge,  with  the  exception  of  some 
ends  of  ridges,  or  bluffs  as  they  are  called,  at  the  Walnut 
hills,  the  Grand  and  Petit  gulphs  —  Natchez  and  Baton 
Rouge.  The  flat  or  bottom  is  in  general  about  two  miles 
broad,  though  in  some  places  nine  or  ten.  The  different 
water  courses,  [322]  which  run  mostly  into  the  Mississippi 
from  the  eastward  have  each  their  bottom  lands  of  various 
breadths,  but  all  comparatively  much  narrower  than  those 
of  the  Mississippi.  The  intervals  are  composed  of  chains 
of  steep,  high  and  broken  hills,  some  cultivated,  some  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  cane  brake,  and  forest  trees  of  various 
descriptions,  and  others  with  beautiful  open  woods  devoid 
of  underwood.  Some  are  evergreen  with  laurel  and  holly, 
and  some,  where  the  oak,  walnut  and  poplar  are  the  most 
predominant;  being  wholly  brown  in  the  winter,  at  which 
season  others  again  are  mixed,  and  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf 
display  a  variety  of  colouring,  green,  brown,  yellow  and  red. 

On  approaching  the  pine  woods,  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
ceases,  but  the  climate  becomes  much  more  salubrious  — 
that  will  however  never  draw  inhabitants  to  it  while  a  foot 
of  cane  brake  land  or  river  bottom  remains  to  be  settled. 

The  pine  woods  form  a  barrier  between  the  Choctaw 
nation  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  territory, 
which  however  does  not  prevent  the  Indians  from  bringing 
their  squaws  every  fall  and  winter  to  aid  in  gathering  in  the 
cotton  crop,  for  which  they  are  paid  in  blankets,  stroud,  (a 


352  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

blue  cloth  used  by  them  for  clothing)  handkerchiefs,  and 
worsted  binding  of  various  colours,  besides  other  articles  of 
manufactured  goods,  which  are  charged  to  them  at  most 
exorbitant  prices. 

The  cotton  crop  requiring  constant  attention,  and  children 
being  useful  in  gathering  it,  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants 
cannot  afford  to  spare  the  labour  of  their  children,  so  that 
education  is  almost  totally  neglected,  and  perhaps  there  are 
few  people,  a  degree  above  the  savage,  more  completely 
destitute  of  literary  acquirements.  But  as  they  grow  up, 
they  can  find  time  for  attendance  at  courts  of  law,  horse 
races,  and  festive,  or  rather  bacchanalian  meetings  at  tav- 
erns, where  bad  whiskey  is  drank  to  the  greatest  excess. 
Notwithstanding  [323]  this  proneness  to  dissipation,  to  the 
neglect  of  manners,  morals  and  property,  there  is  a  sem- 
blance of  religion,  so  that  any  noisy  sectarian  preacher  may 
always  be  sure  of  having  a  congregation,  if  his  time  of 
preaching  is  known  a  day  beforehand. 

With  respect  to  the  productions  of  the  territory,  cotton  is 
the  staple,  and  since  the  disappearance  of  specie  it  serves 
in  lieu  of  money.  The  river  bottom  lands  generally  yield 
from  eighteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre, 
the  uplands  about  a  thousand.  Maize  or  Indian  com  is 
produced  on  new  land  in  the  ratio  of  seventy  or  eighty 
bushels  per  acre,  well  attended.  Horses,  horned  cattle, 
hogs  and  poultry  might  be  raised  in  any  quantity,  yet  cotton 
so  entirely  engrosses  the  planters,  that  they  are  obliged  to 
Kentucky  for  their  principal  supply  of  horses  and  pork  and 
bacon. 

Wheat  would  grow  well,  but  it  is  not  attended  to,  so  that 
all  the  wheat  flour  used,  comes  down  the  Mississippi.  The 
middle  states  supply  a  quantity  of  salted  beef,  and  the 
southern  ones  rice,  which  might  also  be  raised  abundantly. 

When  not  destroyed  by  a  frost  in  April,  there  are  abun- 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  353 

dance  of  early  apples  and  peaches;  but  the  climate  is  too 
cold  in  winter  for  the  orange  or  lemon  to  the  northward  of 
La  Fourche,  on  the  Mississippi,  below  Baton  Rouge. 

The  woods  abound  with  bear  and  deer,  which  are  some- 
times killed  and  sold  by  the  Indian  and  white  hunters. 
Wild  turkeys  on  the  hUls,  and  water  fowl  of  every  descrip- 
tion in  the  swamps  are  abundant,  besides  smaller  game 
both  four  footed  and  feathered  of  various  descriptions. 
But  the  chase,  either  with  dogs  or  the  gun  is  so  laborious 
an  occupation,  from  the  difficulty  of  getting  through  the 
cane  brakes  and  underwood,  that  one  seldom  meets  with 
game  at  the  tables  of  the  planters. 

[324]  The  Mississippi,  the  smaller  water  courses,  the 
lakes  and  ponds  abound  with  cat  fish  of  a  superiour  quality, 
and  a  variety  of  much  more  delicate  and  finer  fish,  yet  one 
seldom  meets  with  them,  any  more  than  with  game. 

In  short,  the  tables  of  all  classes  of  people  have  as  little 
variety  to  boast  of  as  those  of  any  other  civilized  people  in 
the  world.  Coffee,  although  double  the  price  that  it  is 
bought  for  at  New  Orleans,  is  by  custom  become  an  article 
of  the  first  necessity,  which  the  wife  of  the  poorest  planter 
cannot  do  without,  and  it  is  of  course  the  most  common 
breakfast.  Milk  is  used  to  excess,  which  I  have  reason  to 
think  is  an  additional  cause  of  the  prevalence  of  bilious 
disorders. 

Proper  care  and  conduct,  might  in  some  degree  correct 
or  guard  against  the  effects  of  the  climate,  and  prudence 
and  a  well  regulated  economy,  might  procure  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Mississippi  territory,  almost  every  comfort, 
convenience  and  delicacy,  enjoyed  in  the  most  favoured 
countries  upon  earth. 

END  OF  MR.  Cuming's  tour 


354  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

[325]  In  order  to  complete  the  description  oj  the  Mississippi,  we 
subjoin  the  following,  being  Extracts  of  Notes  of  a  voyage 
from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans,  thence  by  sea  to  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  year  1799,  made  by  a  gentleman  of  accurate 
observation,  a  passenger  in  a  New  Orleans  boat,  who  has 
been  polite  enough  to  grant  us  his  manuscript  for  this  pur- 
pose. 
Mr.  Cuming  having  stopped  at  the  Bayau  Pierre,  we  com- 
mence this  narrative  a  little  above  that  river,  in  order 
to  shew  the  state  of  the  settlements  of  the  country  at  that 
time. 

February  9.  This  evening  we  made  a  good  landing  on 
the  Spanish  shore,  with  the  river  even  with  the  top  of  the 
bank.  When  we  had  got  our  boat  tied  to  a  tree,  I  took  a 
walk  on  the  shore,  and  found  it  covered  with^herbs,  briers, 
blackberries  and  oak  trees,  all  in  leaf.  I  measured  the  leaf 
of  a  sycamore  tree  and  it  was  twenty  inches  over.  The 
evening  was  calm  and  clear,  but  the  air  rather  cool,  the  new 
moon  looked  beautiful. 

Feb.  10.  We  proceeded  early  and  got  ten  miles  before 
sunrise.  At  half  past  one  o'clock  we  came  to  a  part  of  the 
river  where  some  little  time  before  there  had  been  a  hurri- 
cane ;  it  overspread  an  extent  of  about  half  a  mile  in  breadth, 
and  crossed  the  river  in  two  places  about  one  league  apart. 
The  tops  of  the  trees  had  been  twisted  off,  others  torn  up  by 
the  roots  and  hurled  into  the  river,  some  lying  with  their 
roots  above  the  bank,  and  their  tops  in  the  river.  The 
route  it  had  taken  was  clearly  perceptible,  and  how  far  it 
extended  on  each  hand.  Its  appearance  was  like  the  wreck 
of  creation,  or  the  subsiding  of  some  general  deluge.  Over 
this  whole  extent  there  was  not  the  least  vestige  of  a  tree 
left,  the  deserted  stumps  excepted.  At  four  o'clock,  after 
taking  a  circuitous  [326]  route  in  a  very  long  bend  of  the 
river,  the  vestiges  of  this  hurricane  again  appeared.    It  had 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  355 

taken  a  north  east  course,  spreading  destruction  in  its  train; 
even  the  elastick  cane  brakes  were  torn  up  and  extirpated. 

Feb.  II.  At  half  past  seven  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yazoo  river.  It  has  a  beautiful  appearance,  rising  in  the 
mountains  of  Georgia,  and  taking  a  south  west  course,  empties 
itself  here.  Our  expectations  were  now  raised  on  seeing 
once  more  the  dwellings  of  men,  having  floated  six  hundred 
miles  through  savage  nations,  without  seeing  a  dwelling  of 
civilized  people,  and  were  not  a  little  pleased  with  discover- 
ing over  the  tops  of  the  trees  at  a  remote  distance  the  Walnut 
hills,  upon  which  is  a  garrison  and  some  dwellings  of  United 
States'  citizens.  When  opposite  the  garrison  the  flag  was 
hoisted  as  a  token  for  us  to  bring  too,  which  we  obeyed. 
Mr.  M — 's  boat  was  a  mile  ahead,  but  was  labouring  hard 
to  make  the  shore,  knowing  the  necessity  of  coming  too, 
he  landed,  but  was  obliged  to  let  loose  again,  and  left  us 
to  offer  an  apology  to  the  commandant.  All  along  the 
bank  we  saw  numbers  of  Indians  of  the  Choctaw  nation, 
men,  women,  and  children,  decorated  with  beads,  broaches, 
deer  tails,  buff  aloe  horns,  &c.  We  had  no  sooner  landed 
than  the  whole  garrison  was  in  an  uproar,  making  prepara- 
tions to  fire  upon  Mr.  M — 's  boat. 

The  sergeant  came  down  to  inform  us  of  the  intention  of 
the  garrison.  Mr.  E — ,  the  owner  of  the  boat  in  which  I 
was,  replied  that  that  boat  was  his  property,  and  the  garri- 
son saw  the  endeavours  of  the  men  to  land,  but  without 
effect,  that  he  was  ready  to  give  the  necessary  information 
respecting  her  and  cargo,  and  if  any  damage  was  done,  he 
knew  where  to  apply  for  redress;  this  spirited  reply  quieted 
the  mind  of  the  sergeant,  and  the  storm  of  the  garrison  sub- 
sided. We  tarried  here  a  few  hours,  sold  some  [327]  apples, 
cider,  &c.  and  then  dropped  down  about  four  miles  where 
we  landed. 

Feb.  12.    Two  hours  before  sunrise  we  resumed  our  voy- 


356  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

age,  overtook  two  other  boats  for  Natchez,  met  a  large  keel 
boat  rowing  up  with  twenty  oars  working,  and  the  men  were 
singing  and  shouting  at  a  wonderful  rate,  I  suppose  the 
effect  of  their  morning  dram,  being  informed  each  man  gets 
three  every  day. 

At  12,  we  took  our  canoe  and  got  a  quantity  of  neat  Bam- 
boo canes,  which  we  spent  the  day  in  trimming.  At  5, 
after  passing  the  mouth  of  Bayau  Pierre,  we  entered  the 
Grand  Gulph,  a  place  formed  by  a  large  bluff  or  high  land 
on  the  east  shore,  and  a  short  point  of  land  on  the  opposite 
side.  The  river  here  is  very  much  contracted,  on  each 
hand  there  are  prodigious  whirlpools,  between  which  the 
current  runs. 

Feb.  13.  The  country  is  now  a  little  more  agreeable, 
being  partly  settled,  nor  are  we  in  danger  from  sawyers,  they 
being  chiefly  swept  away  by  the  large  rafts  of  timber  taken 
down  every  season  to  Natchez  and  Orleans,  for  the  purpose 
of  building,  &c.  The  banks  of  the  river  are  now  lined  with 
that  beautfful  species  of  cane  called  fan  pemato,  or  lettania, 
the  stem  is  of  an  oval  form,  and  when  twisted,  makes  a 
handsome  walking  stick  (some  of  which  we  got),  its  top  is 
formed  Uke  a  fan,  and  is  used  for  that  purpose  by  some, 
when  dried  and  bound.  Peach  trees  in  blossom  were  scat- 
tered along  the  banks.  Half  past  5,  we  came  in  sight  of 
Natchez,  a  town  situated  on  a  high  hill,  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  river.  This  is  in  the  territory  of  the  United 
States;  here  is  a  garrison,  the  country  roimd  is  rich  and 
fertile,  thickly  inhabited,  the  climate  favourable  for  pro- 
ducing Indian  com,  figs,  indigo,  cotton,  &c. 

Feb.  14.  I  walked  up  into  town  after  breakfast,  found 
it  contained  about  one  hundred  houses,  and  [328]  beautifully 
situated,  the  inhabitants  however  are  much  inconmioded 
for  the  want  of  water  in  the  summer;  staple  commodity 


1807-1809]  Cuming^ s  Tour  to  the  West  357 

cotton,  which  when  separated  from  the  seed  and  packed 
in  bags,  fetches  twenty  dollars  per  100  lbs.  There  are  fig 
trees  in  every  garden,  the  ground  covered  with  perpetual 
green,  except  when  burnt  up  in  the  summer  by  the  heat  of 
the  sun.  There  is  a  beautiful  Roman  chapel,  and  a  formid- 
able garrison  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  town. 
The  hills  were  every  where  covered  with  wild  pepper  grass, 
which  furnishes  the  town  with  excellent  sallad.  Within 
a  few  miles  I  am  told  improved  plantations  may  be  pur- 
chased at  from  two  to  ten  dollars  per  acre,  and  unimproved 
lands  at  50  cents.  The  head  quarters  being  removed  from 
Natchez  to  Loftus's  heights,  fifty  miles  lower  down  the 
river,  we  concluded  to  loose  our  hold  and  drop  down  to 
that  place,  which  we  reached  about  two  o'clock  next  day, 
but  were  not  able  to  make  a  landing  imtil  two  miles  below 
the  garrison.  We  collected  our  papers,  and  with  difficulty 
from  the  badness  of  the  route  up  the  bank,  we  reached  head 
quarters,  and  inquired  of  the  centinel  for  the  general  (Wil- 
kinson.) After  waiting  a  few  minutes  the  general  came  out 
of  his  tent;  recognizing  us,  and  after  a  few  compliments,  he 
insisted  on  our  walking  in  and  dining  with  him,  which  we 
accepted.  We  found  him  surrounded  by  his  officers,  after 
introducing  us  to  them,  he  ordered  each  of  us  a  chair,  one 
on  his  right  hand  and  the  other  on  his  felt,  he  made  some 
inquiry  about  our  Pittsburgh  friends,  conversed  on  poHticks, 
theology,  &c.  and  observed  that  the  soldiers  were  full  of 
money,  having  just  been  paid  off,  and  if  we  had  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  landed  at  the  camp,  we  might  have 
made  great  sales.  After  taking  a  few  glasses  of  wine  I 
requested  to  speak  to  the  general  in  private.  Having  in- 
formed him  of  my  business,  and  shewed  him  my  docu- 
ments, &c.  I  requested  him  to  oblige  me  with  a  [329]  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  govemour  at  New  Orleans,  which  he 


35^  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

promised  he  would  have  ready  the  next  morning.  On 
taking  leave  of  the  general  for  the  evening,  he  ordered  a 
periogue  to  convey  us  down  to  our  boat  where  we  arrived  in 
safety. 

Feb.  16.  The  general's  barge  came  down  for  some  apples, 
cider,  and  onions,  in  it  we  returned  to  the  camp  and  dined 
with  doctor  C — ,  and  went  with  him  to  the  general's,  who 
received  us  politely,  and  who  furnished  me  with  a  letter  to 
the  Orleans  govemour  as  he  had  promised,  together  with 
the  papers  I  left  in  his  hands.  I  took  my  leave  and  returned 
to  the  boat. 

Feb.  17.  Having  the  general's  periogue  still  with  us, 
Mr.  E.  and  four  others  rowed  her  up  to  the  camp,  and  got 
his  business  settled  with  the  captain.  This  and  yesterday 
had  been  wet  and  disagreeable.  '^ 

Feb.  18.  At  4,  A.  M.  we  left  Loftus'  heights  camp, 
with  an  encrease  of  two  passengers  for  New  Orleans.  Half 
past  nine,  we  passed  the  mouth  of  Red  river,  which  comes  in 
from  the  Spanish  shore,  and  which  is  almost  full  of  alliga- 
tors.   We  floated  during  the  night  about  sixty  miles,  and  on 

Feb.  19.  We  entered  the  settled  parts  of  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi.  At  7,  we  met  two  large  periogues  from 
New  Orleans.  The  men  called  to  us  in  French,  and  asked 
where  we  were  from,  we  answered  from  Pittsburgh.  The 
country  here  is  generally  low  and  flat,  and  all  along  the 
banks  are  beautiful  plantations.  The  river  is  here  and  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  New  Orleans,  kept  within 
its  bounds  by  artificial  banks  raised  sufl&ciently  high  for  this 
purpose,  called  the  len)ee^  a  step  very  necessary,  as  the  coun- 
try on  either  side  is  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  river. 
These  banks  were  raised  at  an  enormous  expense  by  order 
of  the  Spanish  government.  At  2,  we  crossed  the  mouth  of 
Bayau  Sara  river,  two  miles  from  which  resides  a  Mr.  [330] 
Bradford  [since  dead]  greatly  celebrated  in  the  late  western 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  359 

insurrectioiij  in  Pennsylvania."*  A  little  above  this  river, 
on  the  opposite  shore,  is  a  Roman  church,  at  a  settlement 
known  by  the  name  of  Point  Couple,  which  signifies  a 
point  cut  off.""  At  half  past  three  we  proceeded  with 
difficulty,  owing  to  high  winds,  and  getting  a  little  alarmed 
we  made  shore.  Half  past  six,  P.  M.  we  came  to  the  head 
of  two  islands  both  of  which  stood  athwart  our  way;  they 
are  the  more  remarkable  being  the  last  in  the  Mississippi, 
except  below  New  Orleans.  Between  these  islands  the 
navigation  is  dangerous,  but  a  safe  and  good  passage  for 
boats  or  vessels  of  any  burden  may  be  had  on  either  side. 
During  the  night  we  floated  a  considerable  way,  but  were 
driven  by  the  wind  to  the  eastern  shore.  Our  canoe  getting 
entangled  in  the  limbs  of  a  tree,  we  lost  it. 

Feb.  20.  At  5,  A.  M.  we  got  imperceptibly  into  an  eddy, 
and  were  detained  in  it  about  an  hour.  We  were  now 
much  amused  with  the  many  beautiful  plantations  which 
covered  the  banks  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  On  the  east 
side  is  a  handsome  Roman  chapel  called  Manshack,  about 
thirty  leagues  above  Orleans.^"    At  10,  the  wind  rose  and 

^*  David  Bradford  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  who  removed  to  Washington 
County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1781,  and  two  years  later  was  made  deputy  attorney- 
general  for  the  coxmty.  His  speeches  greatly  inflamed  the  mob  element  in  the 
Whiskey  Rebellion,  and  he  was  considered  the  head  of  the  movement;  hence,  when 
amnesty  was  proclaimed  for  those  who  laid  down  arms,  Bradford  was  omitted 
therefrom.  He  succeeded  in  escaping,  first  to  Kentucky,  where  public  sentiment 
shielded  him,  then  to  Bayou  Sara,  where  he  obtained  a  large  land  grant  from  the 
Spaniards. —  Ed. 

"°  Point  Coupee  is  the  oldest  settlement  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  having  been 
made  by  some  wandering  Canadian  trappers  as  early  as  1708.  Bienville  estab- 
lished this  place  as  a  military  post,  before  the  commencement  of  New  Orleans. —  Ed- 

*^  The  importance  of  Manchac  began  with  the  English  occupation  of  West 
Florida,  when  a  fort  was  built  at  this  point  (Fort  Bute)  to  control  the  pass  of  the 
Manchac  (or  Iberville)  River.  It  was  the  centre  of  an  illicit  trade  up  the  river,  so 
that  the  expression  "by  way  of  Little  Manchac"  became  proverbial  with  the 
people  of  New  Orleans  to  express  any  form  of  smuggling.  Willing  took  possession 
of  Fort  Bute  for  the  Americans  in  1778,  and  it  was  later  garrisoned  by  the  Spanish. 
Jackson  closed  the  route  through  the  Manchac  River  in  1814,  to  prevent  British 
occupation  and  it  has  never  since  been  reopened. —  Ed. 


360  Karly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

blew  violently,  the  river  much  agitated,  our  boat  rocked, 
and  it  was  with  difiEiculty  we  could  retain  our  footing,  we 
rowed  hard  to  make  the  lee  shore,  which  we  accomplished 
at  half  past  ten,  opposite  a  small  but  neat  house  on  the 
western  bank,  which  was  occupied  by  a  French  family, 
chiefly  of  females.  They  came  to  our  boat,  purchased  some 
apples,  and  we  made  out  to  understand  them.  I  took  a 
walk  upon  the  bank,  found  the  garden  full  of  herbs  in  flower; 
by  invitation  I  went  to  the  cottage,  and  in  my  way  picked 
up  a  sprig  of  parsley,  the  family  observing  me  smelling  it, 
the  mother  of  the  children  spoke  to  one  of  them,  and  she 
ran  into  the  garden  and  fetched  me  a  nosegay  of  various 
potherbs  and  flowers,  which  was  a  treat  so  early  [331]  in 
the  season  —  add  to  this,  in  consequence  of  something  said 
to  her  by  the  mother,  the  little  female  presented  me  with 
about  a  quarter  of  a  yard  of  green  riband,  with  which  she 
tied  the  posy.  I  tarried  about  twenty  minutes  and  returned 
to  the  boat.  The  wind  having  subsided,  we  pushed  ofiE. 
At  4,  we  got  into  a  whirlpool,  in  which  we  were  detained  a 
considerable  time ;  this  eddy  was  two  miles  in  circumference, 
and  the  quantity  of  drift  wood  in  it  was  astonishing.  After 
much  difficulty  we  extricated  ourselves  and  regained  the 
current.  As  we  had  now  a  very  quick  point  to  turn,  called 
Judas' s  point,  we  were  forced  to  the  opposite  shore,  and 
dashed  against  a  heap  of  drift  wood.  Mr.  E.  jumped  out 
on  the  logs,  fixed  his  shoulder  against  the  boat,  and  with 
the  hardness  of  pushing  and  thrusting,  the  blood  flew  from 
his  nose;  by  these  efforts  however  we  got  her  off,  but  no 
sooner  were  we  out  of  this  difficulty  than  we  were  drawn 
into  a  second  eddy;  after  taking  a  round  in  it  we  got  out 
into  the  current  again,  and  proceeded.  During  these  dis- 
asters, it  rained,  thundered,  and  lightened  prodigiously.  A 
few  miles  lower  down,  we  got  into  another  eddy,  and  were 
actually  floating  round  in  it  without  having  observed  our 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  361 

awkward  situation,  until  called  to  and  informed  of  it  by  a 
person  on  shore,  who  advised  us  to  land  until  the  next 
morning,  which  we  did.  It  thundered,  lightened  and  rained 
all  night,  notwithstanding  we  slept  comfortably. 

Feb.  21.  We  were  again  blown  on  shore,  but  the  wind 
abating  and  shifting  in  our  favour  we  proceeded.  We 
saw  for  the  first  time  oranges  on  the  trees  hanging  in  great 
plenty.  The  wind  rose  in  the  evening  and  dashed  us  against 
a  tree,  the  storm  continued  and  we  were  detained  until 

Feb.  22.  We  walked  through  the  fine  orange  groves, 
plucked  some  fruit,  and  pushed  o£E,  and  continued  floating 
through  a  country  lined  with  small  plantations,  and  beauti- 
ful houses  screened  from  the  [332]  sun  by  orange  trees, 
whose  fruit  we  saw  hanging  every  where  in  the  greatest 
abundance.  Having  floated  nearly  all  night  we  landed  two 
leagues  above  New  Orleans. 

Feb.  23.  We  thought  it  adviseable  to  tarry  here  until 
sunrise,  on  account  of  the  probable  difficulty  of  making  a 
landing  at  the  city. 

At  7,  we  pushed  off.  Here  indeed  the  banks  of  the  river 
Jiave  a  beautiful  appearance,  elegant  houses  encompassed 
by  orange  groves,  sugar  plantations,  fine  gardens,  shady 
avenues,  and  the  river  covered  with  multitudes  of  market 
boats  rowing,  some  up  and  others  down,  all  tend  to 
enliven  the  views  of  the  passenger,  and  form  a  scene  truly 
delightful. 

At  a  quarter  before  ten  we  landed  at  the  city,  and  after 
collecting  and  packing  up  my  affairs,  I  went  on  shore  with 
captain  Payton,  of  the  United  States'  army,  who  had  accom- 
panied us  from  the  camp  at  Loftus'  heights.  We  went  in 
search  of  lodgings,  and  after  seeing  the  captain  safe,  he 
being  sick,  I  walked  to  Madam  Shaboo's,  an  Irish  lady, 
who  kept  a  boarding  house,  chiefly  for  English  and  Ameri- 
cans.   She  had  about  fourteen  boarders  at  this  time,  Eng- 


362  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

lish  and  American  merchants,  sea  captains,  &c.  They 
were  very  polite,  viewed  me  obliquely,  and  no  doubt  consid- 
ered me  an  eccentrick  character.  After  dinner  I  went  in 
quest  of  Mr.  Clark,"^  to  whom  I  was  recommended  for 
advice  and  assistance.  He  conducted  me  to  Mr.  Lanthois, 
who  I  found  indisposed.  Leaving  him  I  went  in  quest  of 
Mons.  Gourhon,  with  whom  I  also  had  private  business. 
Walking  afterwards  on  the  levee  with  Mr.  Clark,  I  was  a 
little  surprised  by  a  gentleman  coming  up  behind  me  and 
catching  hold  of  my  hand  —  it  was  my  old  friend  doctor 
Lacassigne.  I  had  been  wishing  to  see  him,  he  being  of  a 
turn  of  mind  somewhat  philosophical,  and  could  interpret 
for  me,  and  instruct  me  in  the  French  language,  and  having 
confidence  in  him,  he  [333]  was  a  valuable  friend  and  com- 
panion to  me  while  at  Orleans.  From  the  long  confine- 
ment to  the  boat,  I  found  my  hams,  ancles,  and  knees  so 
weak  I  was  obliged  to  retire  from  our  walk  to  my  lodgings  to 
rest. 

At  4,  I  got  my  documents,  with  general  Wilkinson's  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  govemour,  and  after  passing  the  guards, 
was  introduced  into  the  presence  of  his  excellency."'  After 
examining  my  papers,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  a  friend  who 
could  assist  me  in  negociating  my  business;  I  replied  I  had, 

^  Daniel  Clark  was  the  richest  and  most  prominent  American  in  New  Orleans. 
He  came  to  America  from  his  native  Ireland  to  assist  his  relative,  Colonel  George 
Croghan,  in  the  conduct  of  Indian  affairs,  serving  as  a  clerk  to  the  latter.  At  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  he  removed  to  New  Orleans  and  became  a  Spanish  sub- 
ject; but  was  deeply  involved  in  the  plots  and  intrigues  of  the  Americans.  Clark 
acted  as  Wilkinson's  agent  throughout,  and  served  Burr  on  behalf  of  his  principal. 
He  was  chosen  member  of  the  first  legislative  council  of  Louisiana  Territory,  but 
cut  of  dislike  for  Claiborne,  the  governor,  declined  to  serve.  The  first  legisla- 
ture of  Orleans  Territory  elected  him  congressional  delegate,  and  he  was  in  Wash- 
ington when  Burr  was  arrested.  Later,  he  turned  against  Wilkinson  because  of 
the  tatter's  duplicity  to  all  his  accomplices.  Clark  died  in  New  Orleans  in 
1815.— Ed. 

^  The  governor  of  Louisiana  at  this  time  was  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos; 
for  a  sketch,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  vol.  iii  of  this  series,  p.  8i,  note  155. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  363 

then  said  he,  you  must  apply  to  your  friend,  and  if  you  find 
any  difficulty,  I  will  redress  your  grievances,  I  bowed, 
thanked  him,  and  took  my  leave,  feeling  well  pleased  so 
far. 

Sunday,  Feb.  24.    After  breakfast  I  went  to  Mr.  E 's 

boat,  who  I  found  selling  apples  wholesale  and  retail,  to  a 
crowd  of  people  on  the  shore.  Not  relishing  this  kind  of 
throng  of  business  on  a  Sunday,  I  soon  retired  to  my  lodg- 
ings. And  here  I  must  remark,  that  there  is  no  distinction 
or  difference  made  by  the  inhabitants  between  a  Sabbath 
and  any  other  day  in  the  week,  only  the  stores  are  fuller  of 
purchasers  on  the  former,  the  stalls  in  the  streets  covered 
with  merchandize,  the  mechanicks  engaged  at  their  work, 
women  seen  sewing,  and  at  my  lodgings,  the  female  slaves 
were  ironing  linen  in  the  publick  room.  After  dinner,  Dr. 
Lacassigne  called  on  me  and  we  took  a  walk  around  the 
skirts  of  the  city.  On  our  way  to  the  upper  fort  we  saw 
vast  numbers  of  negro  slaves,  men,  women,  and  children, 
assembled  together  on  the  levee,  druming,  fifing,  and  dancing, 
in  large  rings.  Passing  by  the  taverns  or  coffee  houses,  you 
may  discover  gentlemen  playing  at  billiards,  and  as  these 
tables  are  all  exposed  to  publick  view  by  reason  of  the  large 
wide  doors  being  left  open,  no  one  need  be  at  the  trouble  of 
entering  in  to  satisfy  [334]  his  curiosity.  We  traversed 
roundj  the  whole  city,  which  afforded  me  much  amusement. 

Feb.  25.  In  company  with  the  doctor  I  went  up  the 
river  half  a  mile  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Sarpe,  which  was 
situated  in  a  handsome  garden  of  considerable  extent,  in 
which  were  fig  trees  in  abundance,  pomegranates,  and  a 
large  grove  of  orange  trees.  And  what  a  little  surprised 
me  was  to  see  three  stages  of  the  progression  of  vegetation 
on  the  same  tree  at  the  same  time,  that  is,  the  blossom,  the 
green  fruit,  and  those  yellow  and  fully  ripe,  which  was  the 
situation  of  the  orange  trees  in  Mr.  Sarpe's  garden.    I  had 


364  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

not  been  made  acquainted  with  this  fact  before,  and  there- 
fore was  obliged  to  shew  my  ignorance  on  the  occasion. 
Dr.  Lacassigne  kept  his  residence  here,  and  had  his  room 
detached  from  Mr.  Sarpe's  house,  but  in  the  same  garden. 
It  was  surrounded  with  palisadoes  of  cypress  and  lined 
within  by  orange  trees,  whose  fruit  suspended  on  all  hands. 
The  door  opened  to  the  river,  over  the  top  of  the  room  was 
an  electrical  conductor,  the  point  of  which  was  elevated 
three  yards  above,  but  divided  at  the  ridge  of  the  house, 
and  ran  down  each  side  of  the  roof  and  sides  of  the  wall  into 
the  ground.  Owing  to  the  extreme  heat  of  the  climate 
the  air  is  more  frequently  inpregnated  with  electrical  fluid, 
the  clouds  more  frequently  charged  and  discharged,  the 
explosions  louder,  and  the  preparations  to  ward  off  the  effect 
produced  by  it  more  general  than  in  colder  climates.  The 
doctor's  apartment  was  furnished  with  a  table,  two  or  three 
chairs,  two  beds,  and  a  handsome  library,  composed  of  the 
Encyclopedia,  the  works  of  Voltaire,  Rosseau,  and  a  variety 
of  other  works,  mathematical,  astronomical,  philosophical, 
French  and  English.  Knowing  that  I  walked  with  a  stick, 
the  doctor  had  prepared  two,  of  the  young  orange  tree,  and 
presented  them  to  me. 

[335]  Feb.  26.  Paid  Mr.  E —  a  visit  and  found  him  still 
busy  in  selling  off  his  apples,  &c. 

March  i.  Having  a  fifteen  hundred  gallon  still  consigned 
to  me  for  sale  by  Mr.  S — ,  of  Pittsburgh,  I  walked  into  the 
country  with  the  doctor  to  a  Mr.  Delongua's,  a  distiller  of 
rum,  to  see  if  he  would  purchase  it. 

Sunday,  March  3,  went  in  company  with  Mr.  Buckley 
to  the  Roman  church,  found  it  elegantly  ornamented,  and 
upon  the  whole  to  exceed  my  most  sanguine  expectations.'^* 
The  service  was  conducted  in  a  manner  as  bespoke  the  con- 

*"  The  cathedral  of  New  Orleans  was  built  by  the  Spanish  on  the  site  of  the 
older  French  parish  church,  which  was  burned  in  1788. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  365 

ductors  to  be  no  novices.  After  baptising  an  infant  in  a 
closet  near  me,  the  sermon  was  introduced  by  singing,  in 
which  a  number  of  boys  and  men  were  engaged,  accom- 
panied by  the  soft  sound  of  an  organ,  after  which,  one  of  the 
priests,  (there  being  three)  deUvered  in  the  Spanish  language 
a  discourse  on  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath.  The  ener- 
getick  manner  in  which  this  was  done,  gave  me  reason  to 
believe  he  felt  the  force  of  his  own  arguments,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  reformation  of  the  Sabbath  day  in  New  Orleans. 
The  service  was,  as  is  usual  among  the  Romans,  performed 
in  Latin.  It  concluded  with  singing,  reading,  &c.  and  I 
returned  to  my  lodgings. 

At  3  o'clock,  P.  M.  six  or  eight  of  the  boarders  with 
myself  and  the  doctor  took  a  walk  about  two  miles  from 
the  city  to  view  an  Indian  encampment  of  the  Choctaw 
nation.  We  had  a  shade  of  full  bearing  orange  trees,  to  the 
gate  which  we  had  to  pass,  near  which  marched  a  centinel 
to  guard  a  fort  a  little  below,  detached  from  the  palisadoes 
which  surrounded  the  city.  Outside  of  the  gate  we  saw 
a  large  circular  shade  for  drying  and  manufacturing  bricks, 
under  which  were  upwards  of  fifty  Indians  of  both  sexes, 
chiefly  intoxicated,  singing,  drinking,  rolling  in  the  dirt, 
and  upon  the  whole  exhibiting  a  scene  very  disgustful.  We 
soon  came  to  another  company  of  [336]  ten  men  sitting  in 
the  middle  of  the  road,  all  intoxicated,  amongst  them  was 
one  standing,  with  a  bottle  of  rum  in  his  hand,  whose  con- 
tents he  alternately  administered  to  the  rest,  first  by  shaking 
the  bottle  and  then  pouring  part  of  its  contents  into  their 
mouths.  We  proceeded,  and  in  our  way  out,  we  met  num- 
bers of  Indian  women  with  large  bundles  of  wood  on  their 
backs,  first  tied  together  and  then  held  by  a  strap  carried 
over  their  foreheads.  Thus  loaded,  they  proceed  to  the 
city,  while  their  husbands,  (if  they  may  be  allowed  this 
appellation)  are  spending  their  time  in  indolence  and  intoxi- 


366  EiUrly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

cation.  We  saw  numbers  of  other  women  sitting  on  the 
ground  making  baskets,  mats,  and  sifters  for  Indian  corn. 
The  children  were  entirely  naked.  The  chief  part  of  the 
men  and  women  that  were  engaged  (for  some  of  them  were 
sober)  were  also  naked,  except  a  piece  of  cloth  which  the  men 
wore  for  decency,  and  a  remarkably  short  petticoat  worn  by 
the  women;  in  every  other  respect  they  were  entirely  naked. 
They  were  thickly  encamped  in  the  fields,  on  the  road,  and 
in  almost  every  direction,  some  in  small  cabins  covered  over 
with  a  shrub  like  a  large  fan,  called  latania,  others  seated 
on  the  ground  and  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun.  We 
walked  about  among  them  for  an  hour,  and  returned  to  the 
city,  where  we  found  upwards  of  one  hundred  negroes  of 
both  sexes  assembled  on  the  levee,  fiddling,  dancing,  and 
singing. 

Monday,  March  4.  Settled  some  private  business,  and 
some  I  could  not  get  settled,  for  some  men  are  not  honest, 
and  others  disposed  to  equivocate,  such  I  found  Mons.  G — n, 

who  I  should  be  glad  to  call  by  a  better  name  than  v n 

or   r 1.    With   whom,    however   I   found   Mr.   Daniel 

Clark,  merchant,  very  useful  to  me  in  getting  my  business 
settled.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Peacock  of  Philadelphia  by  cap- 
tain Bradberry. 

[337]  Thinking  about  homeward,  I  visited  the  brig 
Guyoso,  in  which  I  intended  to  sail  to  Philadelphia.  Cap- 
tain Mason  politely  gave  up  his  birth  in  the  cabin  to  me. 
Mr.  E —  and  four  of  his  men  were  to  go  in  the  same  brig, 
having  sold  out  his  cargo  to  Mr.  M — .  Mr.  E —  being  a 
good  provider,  we  engaged  him  to  lay  in  stores  for  the  cabin. 

Having  two  hours  to  spare,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  make 
a  few  remarks  as  to  the  situation  of  New  Orleans:  It  is 
situated  in  29°  59'  north  latitude,  14°  53'  longitude  west  from 
Philadelphia.  The  city  is  built  in  an  oblong  square,  parallel 
with  the  river,  which  runs  here  nearly  north  and  south.    Its 


1807-1809]  Cuming  s  Tour  to  the  West  367 

bed  is  remarkably  deep,  but  owing  to  the  astonishing  quan- 
tity of  water  which  it  receives  and  conducts  to  the  sea,  this 
scooped  cavity  is  filled  and  sometimes  overflows  its  banks 
and  inundates  the  country  for  miles,  hence  the  city  is  low 
and  flat,  and  the  adjacent  grounds  damp,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing circumstance  is  an  evidence.  In  digging  the  graves 
for  the  dead,  before  they  are  dug  sufficiently  deep,  they  are 
filled  with  water,  and  the  coffins  are  generally  held  just 
below  the  surface  until  a  quantity  of  sand  and  gravel  is 
thrown  on  to  sink  them  to  the  bottom.  The  city  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  deep  ditch,  and  pallisadoed  on  its  interior 
bank  with  picketed  cypress.  This  barrier  takes  its  route 
round  those  sides  of  the  city  exposed  to  the  land,  and  joining 
the  river  above  and  below  the  town,  and  is  guarded  by  three 
tolerably  strong  square  forts.  There  are  two  gates  leading 
to  the  interior  of  the  country,  guarded  by  mounts  raised  on 
each  side,  upon  which,  cannon  are  planted.  There  are 
also  two  other  gates  about  one  miles  asunder,  the  one  up, 
the  other  down  the  river,  whose  entrance  is  guarded  by  the 
most  formidable  cannon,  with  some  of  their  mouths  pointing 
to  the  river.  Between  these  two  gates  are  five  row  gallies, 
stationed  opposite  to  the  governour's  house,  which  are 
always  kept  in  order  and  manned  [338]  ready  for  action. 
The  streets  are  laid  out  in  a  straight  line  from  the  river 
to  the  ditch  and  palisadoes,  and  cross  each  other  in  parallel 
lines.  The  principal  part  of  the  original  plot  of  the  city 
is  built  upon,  particularly  that  next  the  river.  There  is  a 
space  of  50  yards  between  the  river  and  the  front  row  of 
houses,  which  has  a  beautiful  appearance.  The  houses  in 
general  are  not  more  than  one  story  high,  some  two,  and  a 
few  three  stories;  the  rooms  are  lofty,  and  the  doors  very 
wide,  to  admit  a  free  circulation  of  air,  which  in  this  warm 
climate  is  very  necessary. 
The  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  though  very  deep,  and 


368  Rarly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

upwards  of  a  mile  wide,  would  not  admit  the  astonishing 
body  of  water  to  which  it  serves  as  a  conduit,  had  not  nature 
and  art  combined  to  aid  this  element  in  its  descent  to  the 
ocean:  the  first  in  having  made  a  number  of  outlets,  by 
which  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  overplus  water  is  car- 
ried ofif  into  the  swamps  and  low  lands,  thence  in  channels 
to  the  sea:  the  second  in  forming  a  number  of  mill  races  cut 
through  the  levee.  On  these  races  saw  mills  are  erected  for 
sawing  plank,  boards  for  building  houses,  and  others  for 
making  sugar  boxes,  which  are  cut  in  proper  lengths  and 
exported  to  the  Havannah,  where  they  are  bartered  for 
excellent  sugar.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  plantations 
along  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  from  Natchez  to  New 
Orleans  and  still  lower  down,  were  formerly  appropriated 
to  the  culture  of  indigo  and  rice,  but  the  demand  for  these 
articles,  particularly  the  first,  being  on  the  decline,  the  atten- 
tion of  the  planters  is  now  turned  to  that  of  sugar  and  cotton, 
both  of  which  articles  bid  for  making  excellent  shipments, 
and  consequently  remittances  for  dry  goods  and  other  arti- 
cles imported  from  Europe. 

The  houses  are  in  general  neat,  and  some  elegant.  There 
is  an  elegant  Roman  church,  with  a  nunnery,  in  [339]  which 
the  females  are  instructed  and  prepared,  some  for  active 
life,  others  for  the  veil,  which  is  not  unfrequent  here.'"  I 
observed  one  day  while  standing  in  the  street  a  little  distance 
from  me,  a  priest  walking  with  hasty  steps  on  the  levee 
carrying  the  host,  and  three  or  four  other  persons  carrying 
candles  in  lanthoms;  these  were  followed  by  a  file  of  mus- 
keteers with  bayonets  fixed.    I  was  a  little  struck  with  sur- 

^  The  convent  of  the  Ursulines  is  probably  the  oldest  building  now  extant  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  It  was  first  occupied  in  1734,  and  employed  as  a  seminary 
for  instructing  young  women.  After  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  the  Ursuline 
nuns  cared  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  received  the  public  thanks  of  General 
Jackson.  The  convent  was  removed  to  the  suburbs  in  1824;  but  the  building  is 
still  used  as  the  (Roman  CathoUc)  archiepiscopal  palace  of  New  Orleans. —  Ed. 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  369 

prise  at  this  parade,  and  more  so  on  seeing  the  inhabitants 
kneeling  down  as  it  approached.  While  I  was  satisfying 
my  curiosity  in  observing  these  people  at  a  distance,  the 
remark  of  a  certain  poet  struck  me  with  peculiar  force : 

Eye  nature's  walks,  shoot  folly  as  it  flies, 
And  catch  the  manners,  living  as  they  rise. 

Monday,  March  11.  Having  got  my  box  and  trunk 
examined  at  the  custom  house,  and  my  mattress  and  blankets 
on  board  the  brig  Guyoso,  I  took  my  station  in  the  cabin, 
where  I  slept  as  well  as  the  musquitoes  would  permit. 

March  12.  At  12,  we  set  sail,  receiving  three  cheers  from 
a  number  of  American  merchants,  supercargoes,  and  sea- 
men, assembled  on  the  shore,  to  whom  we  replied  in  the  same 
manner.  Half  past  three  o'clock,  we  passed  the  English 
turn,  five  leagues  below  New  Orleans.  Wind  rather  ahead. 
At  4,  we  passed  an  old  fort  [called  St.  Mary,  on  the 
right  going  down.  At  7,  dropped  our  anchor  and  went  to 
rest. 

March  13.  As  soon  as  day  broke,  we  were  pestered  with 
astonishing  swarms  of  musquitoes.  At  six,  went  on  shore 
for  wood,  in  getting  which  the  mate  got  his  foot  cut  very 
badly;  wheat  flour  was  applied  to  the  wOund,  by  direction 
of  a  prescription  book  the  captain  had,  and  the  foot  bound 
up.  Set  sail  at  eight,  having  been  detained  by  the  fog.  At 
six,  [340]  came  to  an  old  Spanish  garrison,  called  the  Plaque- 
mines, here  the  flag  was  hoisted  as  a  signal  for  us  to  bring 
too,  which  we  obeyed.  The  captain  and  supercargo  went 
on  shore  in  a  boat,  and  produced  our  passports.  The  cap- 
tain soon  hallooed  to  us  to  drop  the  cage  anchor.  In  this  we 
discovered  the  ignorance  of  the  Spaniards,  for  they  informed 
the  captain  the  water  was  but  fifteen  fathoms  deep,  and  it 
proved  upwards  of  thirty,  which  circumstance  gave  us  a 
great  deal  of  trouble. 

March  14.    Detained  by  the  fog  till  nine  o'clock.    Beat 


370  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

down  and  tacked,  the  wind  being  ahead  at  one  o'clock  the 
river  was  still  covered  with  a  thick  fog.  The  ocean  on  each 
hand  visible  from  the  main-yard,  and  on  the  right  hand 
side  we  saw  the  South  West  pass,  one  of  the  outlets  or  mouths 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  gulph  of  Mexico.  Ahead  we  saw 
the  South  and  on  the  left  the  South  East  pass,  there  being 
three  principal  passes  to  the  sea.  At  three  o'clock  we  came 
to  these  mouths,  and  the  fog  mislead  us  into  the  South  pass, 

and  we  did  not  discover  our  error  until  Mr.  E and 

myself  for  amusement  went  up  the  shrouds  upon  the  main- 
top and  discovered  ahead  an  island.  As  soon  as  this  was 
proclaimed,  the  brig  put  about,  and  after  stemming  the 
current  for  an  hour  we  got  into  the  South  East  pass,  which 
turns  off  gradually  to  the  left,  and  appears  to  be  well  ex- 
hibited in  Jefferson's  chart,  printed  in  London  12th  May, 
1794.  At  5  o'clock  we  ran  on  a  shoal  on  the  right  hand 
side  of  the  South  East  pass,  from  which  we  got  off  without 
damage  at  six  o'clock,  when  we  dropped  anchor. 

March  15.  At  7,  went  upon  deck  and  found  the  morning 
very  damp  and  raw,  a  thick  mist  covered  the  river,  and  ob- 
scured the  land  from  our  view.  In  a  half  an  hour  the  fog 
blew  over  and  we  could  clearly  discover  about  two  miles 
to  the  light  house,  at  Balize,  and  a  vessel  riding  at  anchor  a 
little  above  it.  [341]  At  nine  o'clock  came  to  an  anchor 
opposite  the  Balize.  Here  we  took  our  long  boat  on  board 
and  prepared  for  sea.  At  one  o'clock  P.  M.  the  pilot  came 
on  board,  anchor  weighed,  we  put  about,  and  was  under  way 
in  a  few  minutes.  But  we  were  soon  enveloped  in  a  thick 
fog,  and  obliged  to  return  to  our  late  station  and  drop  anchor 
again. 

In  the  evening  I  was  much  pleased  with  the  beauty  of 
nature  as  exhibited  by  the  setting  sun  reflecting  its  rays  upon 
the  clouds  in  the  western  hemisphere,  which  were  beauti- 
fully tinged  with  a  fiery  red.    The  fog  had  cleared  away, 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  371 

and  there  being  nothing  to  interrupt  the  prospect,  it  was 
delightful  beyond  description. 

March  16.  At  six  A.  M.  the  pilot  came  on  board;  at 
seven  we  despatched  him  again,  and  we  now  entered  the 
gulph  of  Mexico,  our  course  directly  S.  E.  The  brig  rolled 
and  we  got  sea-sick.    Latitude  27  and  46. 

March  17.  In  the  evening  saw  numbers  of  beautiful 
flying  fish  endeavouring  to  escape  from  the  pursuit  of  their 
inveterate  foe  the  dolphin. 

March  18.  Strong  N.  W.  breezes,  lat.  25  55.  The 
19th,  20th  and  2ist,  head  winds,  much  rolling  and  tossing, 
sickness  encreased.  The  2 2d,  fine  weather,  becalmed  in 
the  afternoon.  At  7,  more  fl)dng  fish  skimming  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  indicating  the  approach  of  dolphins,  to  take 
which  the  captain,  he  being  an  adept  in  this  business,  made 
preparations,  and  caught  one  weighing  13  pounds,  which 
was  cleansed  and  set  apart  for  to-morrow's  dinner. 

March  23.  Saw  to  the  leeward  five  sail  of  British  ships 
of  war,  one  of  which  was  the  sloop  Stark,  16  guns.  After 
chasing  another  American  ship,  she  came  after  us;  we  knew 
it  was  in  vain  to  flee,  therefore  backed  our  safls  till  she  came 
up.  She  spoke  us,  sent  a  boat  on  board,  took  our  captain 
and  supercargo,  and  the  brig's  papers.  After  examining 
them,  [342]  and  keeping  us  two  hours  in  suspense,  we  were 
suffered  to  depart.  We  were  now  in  lat.  23,  32,  six  miles 
off  the  isle  of  Cuba. 

We  steered  N.  W.  by  N.  knowing  this  direction,  aided  by 
the  gulph  stream,  would  bring  us  to  the  Marter's  reef  on 
the  Florida  shore.  At  one,  dined  on"our  dolphin,  a  delicious 
dish.  At  four,  having  passed  the  tropick  of  Cancer,  saw  a 
beautiful  tropick  bird,  with  a  long  divided  tail,  aU  over  white, 
shaped  like  a  pigeon,  but  longer.  In  the  evening  we  tacked 
and  steered  east,  the  gulph  stream  still  pushing  us  forward. 

March  24.    A  British  privateer,   from  Province,   with 


372  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

twelve  guns,  paid  us  a  visit,  and  after  the  usual  compli- 
ments of  boarding  us,  and  scrutinizing  our  papers,  &c.  &c. 
and  finding  all  the  property  on  board  belonging  to  American 
citizens,  on  this  account  we  were  permitted  to  depart  in 
peace,  otherwise  we  should  have  seen  the  isle  of  Providence 
without  doubt.  Another  schooner  appearing  to  the  wind- 
ward, while  the  lieutenant  was  yet  examining  our  papers, 
hastened  him  to  his  own  ship,  when  he  immediately  gave 
chase  to  it.  At  12,  we  came  again  in  sight  of  isle  of  Cuba, 
about  four  leagues  ofif.  By  the  high  lands  and  lofty  moun- 
tains we  knew  it  to  be  that  part  of  the  island  called  the  bay 
of  Hundor,  or  Honda. 

March  25.  At  6,  we  saw  to  the  windward  a  ship  belong- 
ing to  Savannah  in  Georgia,  from  Jamaica.  She  had  been 
driven  by  the  current  and  contrary  winds  to  a  remote  part 
of  the  bay,  and  detained  upwards  of  30  days.  Most  of  her 
hands  were  sick  and  in  great  distress.  We  this  day  experi- 
enced a  terrible  storm,  which  continued  the  most  of  the 
night.  There  is  something  tremendously  awful  in  the 
approach,  and  raging  of  a  storm  at  sea,  accompanied  by 
dreadful  peals  of  thunder,  quickly  following  each  other, 
and  the  quick  flashes  of  lightning  bursting  in  streams  from 
the  dark  and  heavy  loaded  clouds  pouring  [343]  dovm  rain 
in  torrents.  This  was  the  case  now,  and  we  prepared  for  it. 
It  was  the  most  dreadful  storm  I  ever  experienced,  and  I 
could  not  forbear  singing  a  hymn,  applicable  to  our  situa- 
tion, namely,  ' '  The  God  that  rules  on  high,  and  all  the  earth 
surveys,^  ^  &c. 

March  26.  Fine  clear  morning,  with  a  smooth  sea.  A 
sight  of  the  island  of  Cuba  afforded  us  a  pleasing  prospect, 
and  its  high  and  mountainous  banks  exhibited  a  most 
romantick  scenery. 

At  3  o'clock,  were  agreeably  entertained  with  a  fine  view 
of  the  city  of  Havannah,  and  the  Moro  castle.    We  were 


1807-1809]  Cuming* s  Tour  to  the  West  373 

warned  of  our  approach  to  it  by  two  hills  called  in  the  chart 
the  Maiden's  Paps,  on  account  of  their  representing  the 
two  breasts  of  a  woman.  These  two  hills,  though  five 
leagues  in  shore,  are  plainly  discoverable  six  leagues  before 
you  get  opposite  to  them,  and  as  they  are  due  south  of 
Havannah,  we  began  to  look  out  for  the  city,  and  with  our 
glasses  soon  discovered  its  lofty  towers  and  white  buildings, 
of  which  there  appeared  to  be  a  great  number;  the  strong 
castle  and  battery  which  guard  the  city  were  also  in  view. 
From  the  Havannah  we  steered  eastward,  with  a  view  to  see 
another  hill  called  the  Pan  of  Matanzas,  from  which  we 
were  to  steer  north. 

March  27.  From  the  top-mast  saw  several  keys  or  islands 
to  the  south  east.  Saw  a  large  shark  playing  and  rolling 
along  side,  and  a  big  turtle. 

March  28.  Being  out  of  the  gulf  stream,  we  were  all  day 
becalmed  in  lat.  23.  27,  opposite  the  keys  on  the  west  end 
of  the  great  Bahama  bank.  Saw  swarms  of  fish,  and  birds 
trying  to  catch  them  as  they  came  to  the  surface  of  the 
water.  During  our  being  becalmed,  I  heard  murmurs  of 
certain  individuals  as  to  the  cause.  One  says  this  is  too 
much  —  another,  we  have  some  devilment  on  board,  &c. 
&c.  The  breeze  springing  up  in  the  evening  we  again 
hoisted  sail,  [344]  and  during  the  night  had  like  to  have  run 
on  some  keys,  but  fortunately  discovered  them  in  time  to 
tack  about. 

March  29.  Lat.  24.  21.  The  gulf  stream  carries  us 
three  knots  an  hour,  but  no  wind.  Saw  a  large  shark  along 
side,  for  which  the  captain  threw  out  a  bait  of  pork;  as  soon 
as  the  shark  saw  this  he  dived,  and  turned  his  white  belly 
upwards,  then  gradually  rising  in  this  position  to  take  the 
bait,  which  he  missed,  and  in  turning  again  the  hook  caught 
him  by  one  of  his  fins,  or  broad  pieces  projecting  from  his 
side  which  assists  him  in  swimming,  and  as  the  cord  was 


374  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

strong,  the  captain  and  three  others  drew  against  him,  and 
after  a  few  flounces,  got  him  along  side  and  drew  him  upon 
the  quarter  deck.  After  beating  and  thumping  the  deck 
like  a  fury  with  his  head,  tail,  and  "fins,  the  captain  laid  him 
for  dead  by  repeated  strokes  with  the  pole  of  an  axe  on  the 
head.  He  had  a  small  fish  called  a  sucker  adhering  so 
closely  to  him  that  it  could  scarcely  be  separated.  This 
small  fish  was  shaped  like  a  cat-fish,  and  under  its  head 
was  a  large  round  substance  by  which  it  adhered,  or  held 
itself  to  the  shark.  The  shark  being  opened  by  the  cook, 
its  bowels  taken  out,  and  eighteen  inches  of  its  body  next 
the  tail  (that  being  the  most  delicious  part)  cut  out,  and  its 
tail  cut  off,  it  was  then  thrown  overboard;  and  what  sur- 
prised me  most  was  that  it  instantly  swam  under  the  brig, 
and  we  perceived  it  swimming  off  on  the  other  side  as  far  as 
our  eyes  could  distinguish  an  object  under  water. 

March  30  and  31.  Gentle  breezes,  sailed  however  about 
six  knots  an  hour,  being  assisted  by  the  gulf  stream.  I  had 
now  read  over  all  my  books,  among  which  I  found  the  most 
pleasure  in  the  delightful  pages  of  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest. 
My  chief  companion  in  the  cabin  was  a  Frenchman  of  the 
name  of  Branie.  We  reciprocated  in  improving  each  other 
in  our  several  languages.  I  found  this  extremely  [345]  useful 
to  me,  for  I  was  thereby  enabled  to  count,  and  ask  questions 
of  business,  and  for  almost  any  thing  I  wanted.  At  12,  lat. 
27.  22. 

April  I.  At  12,  lat.  29.  43.  Quantity  of  sea-weed  — 
high  sea  —  large  shark  skulking  on  the  star-board  side  — 
numbers  of  herring  hogs  playing  around  us.  At  nine  A.  M. 
the  clouds  assumed  a  threatening  aspect,  wind,  rain,  thunder 
and  lightning  unite  and  rush  upon  us  with  fury.  The  sea 
also  seemed  to  enter  into  the  combination  against  us.  In 
alternate  succession  we  were  raised  to  the  clouds,  and  the 
next  moment  apparently  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.     In 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  375 

the  cabin  we  were  all  struggling  to  keep  ourselves  from  being 
dashed  against  each  other.  At  half  past  ten  the  storm 
ceased,  and  a  bowl  of  grog  sent  upon  deck  to  treat  the  sailors. 
Lat.  31.  6.  The  storm  again  commenced  at  one,  and  con- 
tinued until  12  o'clock  at  night. 

April  3.  Head  winds  and  cloudy,  had  no  observation  to 
day.  The  night  produced  such  sudden  gusts  of  wind,  as 
nearly  to  throw  the  brig  on  her  beam  ends. 

April  4.  In  the  afternoon  saw  two  ships  outward  bound, 
steering  S.  E.  High  and  contrary  winds.  Lat.  2)2>-  lo- 
Another  dreadful  storm  was  now  preparing  to  attack  us. 
At  two  in  the  morning  was  called  upon  deck  by  the  captain 
to  view  appearances,  which  were  indeed  dreadful.  The 
masts  were  now, all  naked,  the  sails  being  furled  except  a 
small  part  of  the  main  sail.  The  sea  swelled,  roared,  and 
by  the  friction  of  the  vessel  acting  against  the  saline  and 
fiery  particles  with  which  the  sea  is  impregnated,  it  ap- 
peared to  vomit  forth  or  emit  streams  of  fire,  from  the  light 
of  which,  and  that  from  the  light  charged  circles  with  which 
the  gloomy  clouds  were  environed,  we  could  perceive  some- 
thing of  our  situation.  The  ragings  of  the  storm  continued 
until 

Saturday  morning,  7  o'clock,  April  6.  When  we  flat- 
tered ourselves  with  a  calm,  but  in  this  we  were  [346]  disap- 
pointed, for  a  hurricane,  of  which  the  last  was  but  a  pre- 
lude, was  now  preparing.  At  8,  the  wind  shifted  from  E. 
to  N.  One  of  the  oldest  seamen  saw  the  approach  of  the 
storm  and  gave  the  alarm.  All  was  on  deck  in  a  moment. 
It  came  roaring  and  foaming  upon  us  most  tremendously. 
A  cotton  bag  of  317  lbs.  which  was  suspended  over  the 
quarter  rail  by  strong  ropes,  was  blown  up  and  lodged 
inside  of  the  rail.  The  seas  broke  over  us,  and  I  must  con- 
fess I  expected  nothing  but  a  watery  grave  ere  long,  for 
which  I  bethought  myself,  composed  my  mind  to  prayer, 


37^  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  4 

recommending  my  family,  and  my  fellows  to  the  protection 
of  heaven.  In  two  hours  however  this  dreadful  scourge 
abated.  Not  having  been  able  to  take  any  observation,  we 
supposed  ourselves  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of  cape  Hatterass, 
off  the  coast  of  Carolina. 

Sunday,  April  7.  A  fine  clear  day,  not  a  cloud  discoverable, 
the  sea  calm  and  smooth.  With  the  approbation  of  the 
captain  I  offered  thanks  to  heaven  for  our  late  deliverance. 
Observation  35.  25.  In  the  morning  saw  a  brig  to  wind- 
ward making  for  shore.  She  appeared  to  have  been  labour- 
ing under  the  same  if  not  more  difficulties  in  the  late  storm 
than  ourselves. 

Monday,  April  8.  The  wind  sprung  up  from  the  west 
and  we  shaped  our  course  for  Philadelphia.  At  12,  lat.  36. 
48.    Seven  or  eight  knots  an  hour. 

April  9.  In  expectation  of  making  the  light  house  at 
cape  Henlopen  by  4,  A.  M.  we  had  the  preceding  evening 
made  every  preparation,  the  watch  was  fixed,  the  lead  and 
line  for  sounding  during  the  night.  At  12,  we  got  soundings 
in  25  fathoms  water.  Sounding  was  continued  every  hour 
and  at  4,  A.  M.  had  14  fathoms.  At  11,  a  pilot  boat  boarded* 
us.  At  12,  we  were  opposite  the  capes  of  Delaware,  and  the 
light  house  fair  in  view.  A  head  wind  blowing  up,  the  pilot 
steered  us  over  to  cape  May,  and  intended  [347]  to  make 
cape  island,  but  was  prevented,  therefore  continued  along 
the  Jersey  coast,  and  passed  the  two  mile  and  five  mile 
beach,  and  at  four  o'clock  P.  M.  anchored  in  seven  fathoms 
water  about  two  miles  from  shore  opposite  seven  mile  beach. 
The  evening  was  exceedingly  cold,  after  having  come  imme- 
diately from  so  warm  a  climate;  this  was  very  disagreeable 
to  us.  We  retired  however  to  the  cabin,  amusing  ourselves 
by  recounting  the  difficulties  of  our  voyage. 

Thursday,  April  11.    Dropped  anchor  at  3,  P.  M.  20 


1807-1809]  Cuming's  Tour  to  the  West  377 

miles  within  the  bay  of  Delaware.  Friday  12th,  the  wind 
failed  and  we  dropped  anchor  again  a  little  below  Reedy 
island.  At  10,  A.  M.  tide  being  favourable  we  raised  anchor 
and  continued  tacking,  and  at  6  o'clock  dropped  our  anchor 
about  four  miles  below  New  Castle. 


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II — Indian  Thoroughfares. 

Ill — Washington's  Road:  The  First  Chapter  of  the  Old  French  War. 
IV — Braddock's  Road. 
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VIII — Military  Roads  of  the  Mississippi  Basin. 
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